Developing a taxonomy of motivations for foodstagramming through photo elicitation

Abstract

Foodstagramming, the capturing and sharing of food, has become an indispensable part of our digital culture. This study explores the motivations underlying foodstagramming through a photo elicitation approach. A total of 32 participants were interviewed and 690 photos were collected. Fifteen motivations for foodstagramming were identified. The motivations were conceptually distinguished into three main spheres: self-sphere (intrinsically -oriented), social-sphere (extrinsically-oriented), and restaurant-sphere (stimulus/context-oriented), and further categorized under three key dimensions: affective motives, expressive motives, and functional motives. The findings reveal the heterogeneity in the motivations underlying foodstagramming and provide empirical evi-dence for new dimensions in understanding this important social phenomenon.