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In February， I attended the wedding of a former colleague in Washington， D.C. The 1）reverend’s homily touched on the role that food had played in the bride and groom’s relationship. Their love， cultivated while sharing meals， reflects the role of food in the human experience. The reverend described a picture that the groom had taken of the scene where he had proposed： a spread of delicious meats， cheeses， and wine； the rolling hills of the Virginia countryside in the background. “It was a small feast on a hill to mark a rich moment shared together，” said the reverend with a laugh. “I’m sure there’s a photo somewhere on 2）Instagram.” The congregation laughed and exchanged knowing nods.
As far as I can tell， the practice of photographing one’s food—whether in restaurants or at family gatherings—is generally deplored. The New York Times Style section reported in January that restaurants in Manhattan were banning it.
（“It’s a disaster in terms of 3）momentum， settling into the meal，” said one chef. “It’s hard to build a memorable evening when flashes are flying every six minutes.”）
We laugh at the thought of a beautiful moment ruined by Instagram， but meals continue to fill our online lives. The Internet is brimming with steak and fried eggs， 4）kale and rice， ice cream and coffee.
So why did food colonise the Internet？ The dinner table was （and still is） the primary site for family， a place where parents and children， despite their disparate schedules， reaffirm their familial bonds on a daily basis.
The latest explosion of online food sharing is driven by the particularly social nature of the modern Internet. Now， social networks such as Facebook， Twitter and Instagram specifically demand details about our lives. This is their business model， of course： Facebook makes its money by selling personal data to advertisers. But it is also deeper than that： our desire to connect and share memories is what keeps these networks growing. “The photograph itself， even an artily 5）manipulated one， has become so cheap and 6）ubiquitous that it’s no longer of much value. But the experience of sharing it is， and that’s what Facebook is in the business of encouraging us to do，” wrote The New York Times art critic Karen Rosenberg in 2012. “It’s no coincidence that still lifes of food are among the most-shared photos， along with babies， puppies and sunsets.”
There are limits， as Rosenberg hints： is a photograph of food the same as sharing a meal？ Is it as 7）authentic as a physical dinner enjoyed with friends？ You can’t eat a picture. But the patterns of sharing and consumption and the values they convey are no less authentic for taking place in a new digital realm. The lives we live online and off are not separate things： they influence and inform one another. The experiences we enjoy with our friends and family can be captured and relived collectively. Filtered photos of food probably won’t replace the experience of the meal itself. But in modern society， where office workers often lunch at their desks， and dining alone at a public restaurant is common enough yet regarded as unsettlingly abnormal， the Internet’s foodie impulses can help to preserve the social aspect of mealtime.
Instagram reported that users uploaded around 200 photos a second from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during Thanksgiving Day last year， with around 10 million images bearing some kind of food tag. That was the service’s biggest day on record. The Thanksgiving meal， an experience shared by every American family regardless of creed or colour， became just as much a focus for familial relationships online as it had always been offline.
The New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik was inspired to call his book The Table Comes First by the British chef Fergus Henderson， who said to him： “I don’t understand how a young couple can begin life by buying a sofa or a television… Don’t they know the table comes first？” On a deep level， the type of food and manner of its preparation are secondary to the context of its consumption and the company with whom it’s shared. The table might change， but it will always be the space in which our relationships are made.
二月时，我在华盛顿特区参加了一位旧同事的婚礼。当时牧师的讲道提到了食物在新郎新娘的恋情中所起到的作用。他们的爱情是在互相分享食物的时候培养出来的，反映出了食物在人生经历中所扮演的角色。牧师描述了一张新郎拍下的求婚现场的照片：一席美味的肉菜、奶酪和酒，背景是弗吉尼亚乡村起伏的群山。“这是在山上举行的小型宴会，庆祝着相聚共享的浓情时刻，”牧师笑着说，“我敢确定Instagram上也有这张照片。”在座的人都笑了起来，相互会意地点点头。
据我所知，对着食物拍照这种做法，不管是在饭店还是在家庭聚餐上，通常都是很让人反感的。《纽约时报》时尚版块在一月份报道了曼哈顿的饭店正禁止对食物拍照的事。
（“用餐时拍照渐成趋势，这是一个灾难”，一位厨师说，“当闪光灯不时闪起，便很难营造一个难忘的夜晚。”）
对于美好时刻毁于Instagram之指责，我们一笑置之，但食物还是不断充斥着我们的网上生活。网上到处都是牛排和煎蛋，甘蓝和米饭，冰激凌和咖啡。
那么，为什么食物会侵占我们的网络空间呢？餐桌以前是（而且现在仍是）家庭中最为重要的地方。父母与孩子，不管各自的日程有多不同，餐桌都是大家每天维系亲情纽带的地方。
最近网上晒美食的热潮是由于现代网络极具社会性所驱使而成的。现在的社交网络，诸如脸谱网，推特微博和Instagram都特别要求我们展示生活的细节。当然，这就是他们的企业模式，脸谱网就是通过向广告商出售个人数据来赚钱的。但也并非如此简单：我们与人联系分享回忆的愿望是推动这些网站发展壮大的因素。“照片本身，即使是经过艺术处理的照片，已经变得不值钱，俯拾皆是，不再有多大价值可言。但有价值的是分享照片的经历，这也是脸谱网正鼓励我们去做的事，”《纽约时报》艺术评论员凯伦·罗森伯格在2012年写道，“食物照片成为最多人分享的图片，这绝非偶然，同样最广受欢迎的还有宝宝、小狗和日落的照片。”
同时罗森伯格暗示，分享照片也有局限性：分享一张食物的照片等同于和别人共享一餐吗？这跟现实中与朋友一同分享晚餐那样真实吗？你不可能吃掉一张图片。但在新的数字领域中，这些图片所传达的分享、消费和价值模式，其真实感却毫不逊色。我们在网上和现实中的生活不是分离的，两者相互影响，相互联动。我们与亲友共度的美好时光能被大家一同保存，一同重新回顾。
经过滤镜处理的食物照片不可能会代替用餐经历本身。但是在现代社会，办公室职员通常在办公桌上吃饭，或是独自一人在公共餐馆用餐，这些都已再普遍不过了，但却被认为反常得令人不安。到互联网上晒食物的冲动能有助于保存用餐时间的社交气氛。
Instagram发表报告称，去年感恩节期间，从早上十点到下午两点，其用户每秒上传约两百张照片，其中近千万张照片上或多或少都带有食物的标记。这是该网站所记载下来的上传量最大的日子。感恩节大餐，这种每个美国家庭——无论任何宗教和肤色，一同分享的经历成为了网上展现家庭关系的一个重点，就如同其往常在现实生活中所体现的一样。
《纽约客》杂志的作家亚当·高普尼克受到英国大厨弗格斯·亨德森启发，将自己的书取名为《餐桌最重要》。当时大厨亨德森对他说：“我不能理解年轻情侣怎么能买张沙发或者买台电视就开始生活……难道他们不知道餐桌最重要吗？”从更深层次来说，用餐环境和一同享用之人是最重要的，食物的种类和烹调的方式紧随其后。餐桌或许会变化，但是它始终是我们建立关系的地方。
As far as I can tell， the practice of photographing one’s food—whether in restaurants or at family gatherings—is generally deplored. The New York Times Style section reported in January that restaurants in Manhattan were banning it.
（“It’s a disaster in terms of 3）momentum， settling into the meal，” said one chef. “It’s hard to build a memorable evening when flashes are flying every six minutes.”）
We laugh at the thought of a beautiful moment ruined by Instagram， but meals continue to fill our online lives. The Internet is brimming with steak and fried eggs， 4）kale and rice， ice cream and coffee.
So why did food colonise the Internet？ The dinner table was （and still is） the primary site for family， a place where parents and children， despite their disparate schedules， reaffirm their familial bonds on a daily basis.
The latest explosion of online food sharing is driven by the particularly social nature of the modern Internet. Now， social networks such as Facebook， Twitter and Instagram specifically demand details about our lives. This is their business model， of course： Facebook makes its money by selling personal data to advertisers. But it is also deeper than that： our desire to connect and share memories is what keeps these networks growing. “The photograph itself， even an artily 5）manipulated one， has become so cheap and 6）ubiquitous that it’s no longer of much value. But the experience of sharing it is， and that’s what Facebook is in the business of encouraging us to do，” wrote The New York Times art critic Karen Rosenberg in 2012. “It’s no coincidence that still lifes of food are among the most-shared photos， along with babies， puppies and sunsets.”
There are limits， as Rosenberg hints： is a photograph of food the same as sharing a meal？ Is it as 7）authentic as a physical dinner enjoyed with friends？ You can’t eat a picture. But the patterns of sharing and consumption and the values they convey are no less authentic for taking place in a new digital realm. The lives we live online and off are not separate things： they influence and inform one another. The experiences we enjoy with our friends and family can be captured and relived collectively. Filtered photos of food probably won’t replace the experience of the meal itself. But in modern society， where office workers often lunch at their desks， and dining alone at a public restaurant is common enough yet regarded as unsettlingly abnormal， the Internet’s foodie impulses can help to preserve the social aspect of mealtime.
Instagram reported that users uploaded around 200 photos a second from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during Thanksgiving Day last year， with around 10 million images bearing some kind of food tag. That was the service’s biggest day on record. The Thanksgiving meal， an experience shared by every American family regardless of creed or colour， became just as much a focus for familial relationships online as it had always been offline.
The New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik was inspired to call his book The Table Comes First by the British chef Fergus Henderson， who said to him： “I don’t understand how a young couple can begin life by buying a sofa or a television… Don’t they know the table comes first？” On a deep level， the type of food and manner of its preparation are secondary to the context of its consumption and the company with whom it’s shared. The table might change， but it will always be the space in which our relationships are made.
二月时，我在华盛顿特区参加了一位旧同事的婚礼。当时牧师的讲道提到了食物在新郎新娘的恋情中所起到的作用。他们的爱情是在互相分享食物的时候培养出来的，反映出了食物在人生经历中所扮演的角色。牧师描述了一张新郎拍下的求婚现场的照片：一席美味的肉菜、奶酪和酒，背景是弗吉尼亚乡村起伏的群山。“这是在山上举行的小型宴会，庆祝着相聚共享的浓情时刻，”牧师笑着说，“我敢确定Instagram上也有这张照片。”在座的人都笑了起来，相互会意地点点头。
据我所知，对着食物拍照这种做法，不管是在饭店还是在家庭聚餐上，通常都是很让人反感的。《纽约时报》时尚版块在一月份报道了曼哈顿的饭店正禁止对食物拍照的事。
（“用餐时拍照渐成趋势，这是一个灾难”，一位厨师说，“当闪光灯不时闪起，便很难营造一个难忘的夜晚。”）
对于美好时刻毁于Instagram之指责，我们一笑置之，但食物还是不断充斥着我们的网上生活。网上到处都是牛排和煎蛋，甘蓝和米饭，冰激凌和咖啡。
那么，为什么食物会侵占我们的网络空间呢？餐桌以前是（而且现在仍是）家庭中最为重要的地方。父母与孩子，不管各自的日程有多不同，餐桌都是大家每天维系亲情纽带的地方。
最近网上晒美食的热潮是由于现代网络极具社会性所驱使而成的。现在的社交网络，诸如脸谱网，推特微博和Instagram都特别要求我们展示生活的细节。当然，这就是他们的企业模式，脸谱网就是通过向广告商出售个人数据来赚钱的。但也并非如此简单：我们与人联系分享回忆的愿望是推动这些网站发展壮大的因素。“照片本身，即使是经过艺术处理的照片，已经变得不值钱，俯拾皆是，不再有多大价值可言。但有价值的是分享照片的经历，这也是脸谱网正鼓励我们去做的事，”《纽约时报》艺术评论员凯伦·罗森伯格在2012年写道，“食物照片成为最多人分享的图片，这绝非偶然，同样最广受欢迎的还有宝宝、小狗和日落的照片。”
同时罗森伯格暗示，分享照片也有局限性：分享一张食物的照片等同于和别人共享一餐吗？这跟现实中与朋友一同分享晚餐那样真实吗？你不可能吃掉一张图片。但在新的数字领域中，这些图片所传达的分享、消费和价值模式，其真实感却毫不逊色。我们在网上和现实中的生活不是分离的，两者相互影响，相互联动。我们与亲友共度的美好时光能被大家一同保存，一同重新回顾。
经过滤镜处理的食物照片不可能会代替用餐经历本身。但是在现代社会，办公室职员通常在办公桌上吃饭，或是独自一人在公共餐馆用餐，这些都已再普遍不过了，但却被认为反常得令人不安。到互联网上晒食物的冲动能有助于保存用餐时间的社交气氛。
Instagram发表报告称，去年感恩节期间，从早上十点到下午两点，其用户每秒上传约两百张照片，其中近千万张照片上或多或少都带有食物的标记。这是该网站所记载下来的上传量最大的日子。感恩节大餐，这种每个美国家庭——无论任何宗教和肤色，一同分享的经历成为了网上展现家庭关系的一个重点，就如同其往常在现实生活中所体现的一样。
《纽约客》杂志的作家亚当·高普尼克受到英国大厨弗格斯·亨德森启发，将自己的书取名为《餐桌最重要》。当时大厨亨德森对他说：“我不能理解年轻情侣怎么能买张沙发或者买台电视就开始生活……难道他们不知道餐桌最重要吗？”从更深层次来说，用餐环境和一同享用之人是最重要的，食物的种类和烹调的方式紧随其后。餐桌或许会变化，但是它始终是我们建立关系的地方。