Have you ever thought how radically our lifestyles have changed – and continue to change – since the introduction of the Internet and various technology inventions? Every week some new technology comes out, becomes fashionable and nobody knows how long it is going to last.
Today’s world can be defined as constantly changing. This blog post will focus on how these changes are affecting the way in which we cook in our everyday lives.
Today, if you don’t know how to cook something you can just Google it. You will find everything you need: recipes, ‘How-to-make’ videos, probably a vegan version of that dish, or a suitable gluten and dairy free alternative.
Looking for recipes online is something that everyone does. It’s the norm. It’s second nature. But going back twenty years or more, can you imagine (or remember) how hard it would have been? You only had books. Or bits of paper with barely legible writing passed down from your Grandma. You may have notes taken from the cooking show on the TV, but obviously you couldn’t watch it again if you needed to, as YouTube didn’t exist. It wasn’t easy.
Today, you have millions of recipes with you in your pocket. And if you are not sure about some guidelines you can always watch a video. Furthermore kitchen tools that were once used in Michelin Starred restaurants can now be found in every kitchen.
All these changes are affecting the variety of the food we are cooking too. Sometimes you don’t even need to look for a recipe. How many times one of your Facebook friends has shared one of those BuzzFeed Tasty Recipe videos?
Social media is now full of these ‘shot from above’ videos and people keep sharing them in their millions. In fact BuzzFeed’s Tasty channel is pulling in over 360 million views every month.
Having everything at your fingertips has also increased the number of people who cook for themselves, as well as changing the perception of cooking. More people realise how easy it is, and now enjoy spending their time doing it.
And lest we forget, after you’ve cooked you meal, you need to take a picture of it. You then post it on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and so forth, as sharing what you cook is now the norm. There are over 300 million food posts on Instagram, and the most popular category on Pinterest is food.
Changing the way we cook does not always mean improving, however. If you think about a Sunday meal with family or friends, you will probably think about bigger portions, and not necessarily great presentation but definitely the greatest taste. Today, it almost seems that the appearance of your food is more important than the actual taste.
Technology and the Internet are enormously and constantly changing everyday life both in a positive and a negative way, and they will keep doing it. What is new today, won’t be tomorrow.