SnapChat this, Instagram that: The interplay of motives and privacy affordances in college students’ sharing of food porn

Abstract

The high use of social media among youth, coupled with smartphone ownership, has spawned the production and distribution of photos online. One particular genre of photos stands out as novel: food photos. Advancements in technologies have given users the ability to endow images with enhanced emotion and awe, turning food photos into food porn. This study uncovers—within the framework of uses and gratifications and affordance theory—whether food posting is food porn, why users share it, and how considerations of gratifications are connected to specific social media affordances. Our mixed-methods data were comprised of three sequential studies collected at an urban university in the United States using in-depth interviews (2015 and 2016) and open-ended questions from a survey (2019). Results suggested that most of the shared content served to enhance participants’ image via self-presentation. We argue that users’ perception of privacy affordances guides their choice of platform.