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The story
A thread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board asked about the psychology of people who photograph their food every single time at a restaurant. The thread quickly got derailed by personal attacks on the OP — things like “you have no friends” — but amid the chaos came some concrete reasons too: “it gives me something to talk about when I see them later,” “I post it on social media,” and “90% is to show other people, 10% is for reference when I cook myself.” The OP, questioning the very point of taking the photo, and the posters who do it as a matter of course kept talking past each other the whole thread.
What people said
Just for reference, show me a few photos of good food you've taken recently
No way, why would I show some random stranger that
It's not like I even want to see it either
but if you post it, the thread gets more replies, right?
Like you two show each other photos or something?
Why would I do that for your sake
And I don't even want to post it on 5ch
Not for my sake — for whoever might open this thread later
To give a real answer, yeah I take them 🥺
I post them on social media or use them as conversation material when I meet up, like "this was so good" 🥺
Don't you just go eat it together instead?
Sometimes we do go together afterward, and if that person goes with someone else, it becomes a fun topic again too 🥺
And when I post it on social media, girls will often say stuff like
"I've been wanting to go there! How was it?"
"It was great — want to go together sometime?" 🥺
Lol, everything you just described works fine without the photo
Wouldn't that be more for photos of your kids or travel scenery than food?
OP, are you new to social media one-upmanship?
I only post airport photos on social media
I'm an "Airport Uncle" (slang for middle-aged men who only post airport/travel shots to show off)
10% is for reference when I cook it myself
Do you show it off every time you meet someone, like "look at this dish"?
Or is it social media?
Nobody does that — you can Google endless food photos anyway
It's both, obviously 🥺
Food is something everyone can relate to, right after weather and temperature, so it's an easy conversation starter 🥺
Travel or scenery stuff you can't really get unless you felt the atmosphere in person 🥺
I see
By the way, how many years have you been doing this food-photo-showing thing?
Have you never used social media? 🥺
It'd work without the photo too, but I can tell everything I need to know from the fact that you're using emoji on 5ch lol
You show the photo while talking face to face?
Maybe for middle/high schoolers, but adults basically never meet friends for small talk without food or drinks, right?
Showing a photo of some other meal while you've got food right in front of you — that I genuinely don't get
What kind of job gives you that mindset?
Does being shown a food photo while you're eating actually make you feel sick?
That's the part I don't get
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
The habit of posting food photos on social media, or using them later as a conversation starter when meeting someone, spread alongside the rise of smartphones and social media — and the motivation isn’t necessarily just a desire for approval. In the thread, some pointed out that “90% is to show other people, 10% is for reference when cooking,” citing reasons, like using the photos as cooking notes, that have nothing to do with seeking approval. At the same time, the thread gradually derailed into personal attacks on the OP, so discussion that actually dug into the reasons behind taking the photos stayed limited. The talking-past-each-other stemmed from a difference in assumptions: one side treated taking the photos as an everyday habit, while the other found it simply incomprehensible.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “What’s going on in the minds of people who photograph every dish at restaurants?“
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