Rhetoric of the iPhone

Every Sunday evening, my friends and I walk down the block to the food truck park. Coming from the suburbs of New York, eating at food trucks was not something I often experienced before arriving in Austin, Texas. However, since coming to Texas, the food truck park has become a place of comfort and familiarity for me. Our weekly dinners are always filled with delicious authentic food, interesting conversations and lots of laughter. We have made some great memories here these past few months, which is partly why I wanted to share this experience. But not only do we just chat and dig into our food, we also never fail to take pictures of our food. Food itself has become an integral part of American culture, and taking photos of food has become just another reason for us to be glued to our phones and imagining all our possible posts on social media. Taking pictures has always been a good way to capture moments. However, until recent years, I hadn’t considered food as a sort of memory to be documented or posted on social media. Food has played an increasingly major role in American society, especially on social media. I can’t scroll through my Instagram feed without seeing tons of appetizing images from new “food Instagrams.” Food has become such a central part of our lives, and taking pictures and documenting the food we eat has become second nature to us, which is why it’s no surprise that everywhere I go nowadays I see people snapping pictures of their food before they scarf it down. People want to remember the food they eat and the restaurants they visit, and share it with their friends and family.  I didn’t plan on taking this photo when I went to dinner a few weeks ago, but while I was waiting for my food I couldn’t help but notice a camera flashing picture after picture at a nearby table. One girl was snapping pictures of her food, while another held the meal up as if it were a prop, and the others sat around and watched with excitement, waiting for her to finish so they could finally dig in. This is when I decided to take my photo because I realized the extent to which our camera phones now play in our dining experience. Taking pictures of our food for our own memories and satisfaction and for the purpose of posting on social media has become a major component of our culture. I took it upon myself to dig deeper into this food photography and approached the girl I saw taking the pictures. Little did I know, she actually runs her own famous food Instagram account (@foodporndaily1). Her account currently has 105 thousand followers; that is, to say the least, a lot of people interested in staring at and sharing their pictures of food. She constantly receives pictures from friends, and friends of friends, of their delicious-looking food from all over the country. These people turn their meals into memories, and their phones enable them to do so.

Some other of my experiences exploring Austin are my adventures to the Greenbelt. I went with a few of my friends for the first time at the beginning of the semester and have been a few times since. I look forward to and appreciate my days spent at the Greenbelt because it is a place I go to relax, disconnect, spend time with friends. The Greenbelt is perfect for this, given that it’s not too far from campus and is naturally such a pretty, quiet and relaxing place to be. My friends and I always describe the environment as simply “chill vibes.” This is an experience in which I didn’t use my phone at all, and the absence of it actually enhanced my experience. The first time I went I didn’t arrive with the intention of not using my phone, I just happen to be so distracted by the company of my friends and relaxation of the environment around me that I just didn’t miss it. Now whenever I go, I don’t even bring my phone. I go with a purpose of disconnecting. I don’t feel the urge to be talking to anyone not currently with me, snap-chatting the scenery, or taking pictures to post on Facebook, and my friends couldn’t agree more.   This experience gave me a new perspective on feeling like I always need my phone by my side, and proved to me the value in disconnecting, and how good it feels when I actually allow myself to.

My final experience was definitely one I’ll never forget. This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the World Series in Chicago. The Chicago cubs have not brought home a title to their loyal fans and city since 1908, and a World Series game had not been played at Wrigley Field since 1945. That being said, it’s safe to say that I witnessed history, and it was definitely an experience worth documenting. Being at an event so historic called for much documentation, and my friend and I made sure our phones were fully charged before the event so we could be sure to capture any and every exciting moment. While the intentions behind all the pictures and videos we took throughout the game were geared towards having something to look back on and remember this special experience, I’ll admit my friend and I also posed for a few pictures to post on social media. We posted multiple pictures on Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram, so all our friends and family could witness and envy our experience as well. However, as I looked around the stadium, everyone seemed to be doing the same. Although I am accustom to it as well, it saddens me that it is among so many of our natural instincts to take out our phones at the first glimpse of a cool moment in the making, not necessarily to capture a memory, but more so now to capture a moment we want to post for other people to see.