Food pictures-Why?

I went to lunch with my friend today and she happens to be a white. I've noticed that every time I go out to eat with her, she always takes pictures of her food and posts it on Instagram. The only thing I knew about Instagram was that it was a website where you can posts pictures up (at least that's what I believe it to be). I asked her why she felt the need to take pictures of her food and post it and all she did was reply "I don't know, it's just something that I do along with many other people."

I didn't understand. This seemed to be the American culture, but I wasn't following it nor do I understand it very well. My brother told me once that not growing up with TV hindered our ability to pick up on phrases and words that were part of the American culture. TV is important because common shows help people have something to talk about in conversations and find commonalities. It's one way to learn the language or "lingo" of the era and the American kids. I believe that social media websites do the exact same thing. Maybe if I created a Instagram and started posting up pictures, I would understand what my friend meant, but the fact that I never grew up with TV nor much media surrounding me, I was just confused at these little influences on how media plays a key role in today's society and the importance of connecting others to each other.

Here's what I had for lunch today. I tried to be like my friend and post a picture of my food. I found that I wanted to have common ground with her because I knew that many people did the same thing. I really am confused as to why people do this...