Our experience of food is inherently synaesthetic, through our use of taste, sight, smell, sound, and touch (Korsmeyer and Sutton 2011; Sutton 2010), but social media allows the experience of food to reach further – through virtual synaesthesia (Rogowska 2011). Drawing on my own experiences of using Instagram, I will explore how the sharing of food images has become a powerful tool in the creation of individualised sensory experiences.

Virtual synaesthesia is the experience of sensations, such as taste, as a result of stimulation to one sense, such as vision, whilst in the virtual world (Rogowska 2011). I argue that this has become more common in recent years as a result of the increasing popularity in sharing what we are eating with our Instagram follows by posting images of aesthetic plates of food. Whilst I don’t post these images online, I sometimes take pictures of what I am eating when I am out with friends (figures 1 & 2). These photos follow the typical Instagram trend of showing the plate of (generally) aesthetically presented food, often in addition to sharing who you are eating with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although we can’t share the taste of food with others, Instagram provides a sharing avenue for synaesthetic experiences (Caroni Schweitzer Gil, n.d.). Seeing images of well-presented food triggers our taste buds and often ignites a taste experience, where we have a strong sense of the flavours being depicted in the photo. This allows for the creation of a community through food, as despite not physically eating what the original Instagram user did, those seeing the image are now more engaged in the eating experience through the creation of flavours in their own mouths.

I find the virtual synaesthesia experience more intense with some foods over others. An image of a roast dinner, sometimes sent to me by family members, gives a strong taste in my mouth as I have a true understanding of what it would taste like. This often initiates a strong craving, which I believe to be due to my connections between roasts and home. The sense of comfort created by the synaesthetic taste of a roast dinner (Caroni Schweitzer Gil, n.d.) makes me want to eat one in order to satisfy this feeling of comfort and feel more homely.

It’s worth noting that Instagram allows images to be shared on a global scale, but the understanding of what the photographed food tastes like is likely to vary between cultures (Farrell 2020), depending on their own taste expectations. Whilst European gastronomy focuses on pairing foods with shared flavours, Asian cooking avoids mixing similar flavours (Ahn et al. 2011) so our individual understandings of what different dishes taste like vary significantly. For example, an Asian Instagram user may not experience the same taste synaesthesia from a typical Western Instagram brunch photo as those from Europe would, due to our different cultural understandings and experiences of flavour.

 

Word count: 500

Bibliography

Ahn, Y-Y., Ahnert, S., Bagrow, J., Barabasi, A.L.  (2011) ‘Flavor network and the principles of food pairing’ Scientfic Reports, 1(197) pp. 1-7

Caroni Schweitzer Gil, A. (n.d.) ‘Sharing Food While Being Apart: Synaesthesia in the time of COVID-19’, Sixth Sense Abcderium. [Online] Available at: <https://sixthsensereader.org/about-the-book/abcderium-index/synaesthesia/> [Accessed 27 March 2022]

Farrell, B. (2020) ‘Virtualizing our mouths: The sensorium and Instagram imagery’, International Journal of Food Design, 5(1-2), pp. 113-123

Fleming, A. (2013) ‘The geography of taste: how our food preferences are formed’, The Guardian, 3 September. [Online] Available at <https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/sep/03/geography-taste-how-food-preferences-formed> [Accessed 28 March 2022]

Korsmeyer, C. and Sutton, D. (2011) ‘The sensory experience of food’, Food, Culture and Society 14(4), pp. 461-475

Rogowska, A. (2011) ‘Categorization of Synaesthesia’, Review of General Psychology, 15(3), pp. 213-227

Sutton, D. E. (2010) ‘Food and the Senses’, Annual review of anthropology 39(1), pp. 209-223

Mar 28, 2022

Whilst “there is no such thing as total silence” (Gann 2010, p ix), relative silence is a powerful tool that we can use to regulate our mood. Silence is usually associated with calm, melancholy, and peace, but it can also be linked with the anxiety and danger of being left with our own thoughts. I will discuss my personal experiences of how I use silence to these contrasting effects in order to regulate my mood.

I think it is fair to assume that most people associate silence with stillness and calm, myself included, however, upon further reflection I have realised that silence also comes with a certain level of threat. I visualise silence as a desolate landscape (figures 1 & 2), which highlights the link I make between silence and solitude, as these images are devoid of people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is this link between silence and solitude that I will explore further in relation to my own experiences. In times of busyness, overstimulation and being surrounded by noisy people, I am more likely to seek silence in order to contrast my current experiences and return to a more tranquil state. Introverted at heart, I give value to the quiet I experience in my own company. In spending lots of time with my family at home, with much noise being made, I may eventually retreat to my bedroom in order to find relative silence and the calm that it brings me. I wouldn’t say that I necessarily seek silence, but a relative quiet compared to the noise I sometimes find myself in.

In a somewhat confusing contrast, when I am home alone for extended periods of time, I quickly become uncomfortable in the relative silence I find myself in. It is in this situation that I make efforts to break the silence, through playing music, playing the tv in the background, or trying to do tasks more noisily. I think silence is a scarier thing when alone, due to the ability for our own thoughts to run away with themselves, meaning that we are more scared of things that would otherwise take up little space in our thoughts (as explored in a previous blog). This is a key feature in the experiences for many with anxiety or depression (Abou Tarieh 2021). For me, this generally means the fear of someone else being in the house when I am home alone. By breaking up the silence with background noise, I am more distracted from my overthinking, and am therefore less fearful.

Given these two examples, it is clear how silence is strongly linked to context, as it performs different functions in different situations. My experiences of silence vary depending on who I am with, and whether or not I have a desire to be alone. At the same time, the power of background noise is demonstrated, as we can use it as a tool to control our emotions, and counter our experiences of silence.

 

Word count: 497

Bibliography

Abou Tarieh, J. (2021) ‘Feelings of inadequacy: the relationships between overthinking and anxiety’. Lebanese American University

Gann, K. (2010) ‘No Such Thing As Silence : John Cage’s 4’33’, Yale University Press, New Haven. pp. ix-xiv

Mar 24, 2022

It’s well known that land has a smell, which we no longer notice on a daily basis. However, upon recently watching ‘Maiden’ (2018, see trailer here), I was inspired to consider the experience of smelling land for the first time, particularly for returning sailors after long periods at sea. This is a unique experience which few will have the opportunity to experience, but one which highlights the lack of recognition we give for smells through the process of becoming ‘noseblind’.

Sailors on long journeys are used to experiencing pungent smells when living in close proximity with others for extended periods. The smells of damp clothes, unwashed bodies, cooking, salt, and vomit – to name just a few. Speaking to family members who have done long distance yacht racing (figure 1), the smells on the boat have stuck with them and they can vividly remember these odours whilst reminiscing their sailing experiences.

However, whilst sailors experience a cacophony of smells within the small confines of their boats, it is not until they return to land that they are re-united with the smells found on land, and the smell of land itself, that we are all usually so accustomed to. In the documentary about the ‘Maiden’ boat in the Whitbread Round the World race, Mundy (Maiden 2018, 56:26) speaks about the experience of arriving in Australia: “Land smells. And you can smell it days and days out, particularly Australia, all the eucalyptus and this deep hot earth smell”. Chisholm (2015) also discusses how sailors can smell the pollution of the ocean as they near certain parts of the world, such as coastal pollution off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, where they could smell and then see changes in the water quality. Multiple other blogs by sailors also highlight this experience, stating that “as you approach an island, you will usually experience a sudden pungent smell. The vegetation and odors of fish near the shore can be quite strong” (Taylor 2011, np).

These accounts highlight the experience of not realising what you can’t smell, until you can smell it again – or as Febreze have sloganized it: going ‘noseblind’ (Febreze.com, n.d.).

Febreze has capitalised on the concept of going ‘noseblind’ to our own localised smells in order to market their air freshener products (Procter and Gamble 2016):

Similarly to how we become accustomed to the smell of land until we smell it for the first time again, the same thing happens on a smaller scale, where we can get used to the (sometimes unpleasant) smells found within our homes. In a marketing strategy to play on the fear most have of having a bad smelling home, Febreze claim that their products get rid of any bad odours that we may have gone ‘noseblind’ to. In turn, going ‘noseblind’ has become a more widely used term within society and there is a greater awareness of this process where we sub-consciously lose the ability to smell certain things.

 

Word count: 499

Bibliography

Chisholm, J. (2015) ‘“Fifty miles out we could smell the pollution”: sailing amid the ocean litter’. The Guardian [online]. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/25/sailing-amid-the-ocean-litter> [Accessed 24 March 2022]

Febreze.com. (n.d.) Noseblind Videos & Tips | Febreze. [Online] Available at: <https://www.febreze.com/en-us/learn/noseblind> [Accessed 24 March 2022]

Hollywoodstreams (2019) ‘Maiden’ Documentary Trailer. [Online] Available at: <https://youtu.be/HxhEInUzqlE> [Accessed 28 March 2022]

Maiden (2018) Directed by Holmes, A. [Film]. New Black Films.

Procter and Gamble (2016) ‘Are you #Noseblind? Try Febreze Fabric Refresher | P&G UK and Ireland’ [Video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdB0yCGeToE> [Accessed 24 March 2022]

Taylor, F. (2011) ‘Signs of arrival’ Tahina Expedition [Blog], Available at: <https://www.tahinaexpedition.com/2011/05/signs-of-arrival.html> [Accessed 24 March 2022]

Mar 24, 2022

We commonly see queues of drunken party-goers outside chip shops late at night, but what is it about this social context that makes those chips taste so good? As someone who doesn’t normally eat chips or go to a takeaway shop, I am interested to know why they are so much more satisfactory when eaten in a drunken state on a cold Edinburgh street surrounded by friends.

The influence of alcohol certainly has an impact on our food choices, as we are more likely to crave unhealthy foods and eat more ‘junk food’ than when sober (Kruger and Kruger 2015). However, I am more interested in how our social context influences our tasting experience of chips following a night out.

Taste is not a purely individual matter, it depends on our socio-cultural context (Hojlund 2015). “Tasting means different things in different contexts” (Hojlund 2015, p2), as our enjoyment of food is influenced by our mood, as well as the company and setting we are in. The taste of greasy chips at 2am on a cold Edinburgh street with friends after a fun night is very different to if we were served those chips in a restaurant, or cooked them at home.

Much like how fish and chips at the beach has become a British tradition, we now have cultural associations with eating chips or other takeaway food when drunk. It has become somewhat a tradition to get greasy food late at night after drinking, and this expectation makes us more likely to choose to buy chips and enjoy eating them. Korsmeyer and Sutton (2011) state that our expectation and anticipation of the salty flavour of chips heightens our taste of them, meaning that the more we look forward to getting chips on the way home during a night out, the more we will enjoy them. This is something I have experienced, as if someone mentions getting food on the way home from a club, there is never a time where other group members turn down the idea, instead all experiencing a growing desire and anticipation for the taste of them.

The main contributor to me enjoying chips after a night out is the influence of others around me doing the same thing. Whilst there is no direct peer pressure to buy chips, we are perhaps influenced by the fear of missing out if our friends are enjoying a late night snack and we choose not to. Additionally, Hock and Bagchi (2018) suggest that the larger the crowd in the shop, the more chips we are likely to buy and consume, so the late-night crowding in popular fast-food shops has an influence on our likelihood of eating chips. The social gathering in a chip shop or on the street late at night contributes to how we perceive the taste of the chips, so they are likely to taste better if we are surrounded by people we like.

Word count: 500

Bibliography

Flickr (2022). Kebabs. [image] Available at: <https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51853121774_c6d1dbc0ca_h.jpg> [Accessed 23 March 2022]

Hock, S.J. and Bagchi, R. (2018) ‘The Impact of Crowding on Calorie Consumption’, Journal of Consumer Research, 44(5), pp. 1123-1140

Højlund, S. (2015) ‘Taste as a social sense: rethinking taste as a cultural activity’, Flavour, 4(6)

Korsmeyer, C. and Sutton, D. (2011) ‘The sensory experience of food’, Food, Culture and Society, 14(4), pp. 461-475

Kruger, J.S. and Kruger, D.J. (2015) ‘The impact of alcohol consumption on food choices among college students’, American Journal of Health Studies, 30(2), pp. 70-75

Mar 23, 2022

Nyctophobia, or fear of the dark, arises when our (arguably) most valued sense is inhibited. As something which many, including me, experienced as a child, this fear typically starts as a result of wild imaginations being uninhibited by the logic of what they can see (First 2005). However, it is also enhanced through numerous contributing factors which I will further explore.

What scared me most as a child was being alone in a dark bedroom at night, as I was worried about intruders coming into the house. I would tune into any noises I could hear around the house, like creaking stairs, which only enhanced my fear as my imagination would go wild. I agree with First (2005), that my fear was enhanced as my thoughts ran away with themselves, as I couldn’t see things within my dark bedroom to distract and reassure me. To counter this, for years I slept with my bedroom door open and the landing light on, so my bedroom was lit and I could see everything with ease. I am thankful that this fear did not last with me into my teenage years, however, given the number of everyday factors that contribute to nyctophobia, perhaps it’s surprising that a greater number of adults don’t have a fear of the dark.

One of the key contributors to my fear of the dark was the knowledge that much inhibited behaviour does happen at night (Devereux 1949), such as burglaries – my main fear. This knowledge was a reinforcement of my fear, suggesting that I had a reason to be scared of the dark as this lack of light and vision is linked with lawbreaking behaviours. The imagery of bad or scary behaviour happening on the streets at night is presented to us from a young age through various media channels (figure 1), and enhances this association between darkness and danger. Even into adulthood, when I am no longer scared of the dark, burglaries and other criminal activities remain what I am sometimes afraid of when in certain darkened settings.

Figure 1: FunnyBones children's tv theme titles emphasising darkness(Slurpy Studios Animations 2018). Whilst the main characters are not necessarily 'bad', for children, skeletons pose a negative image associated with the dark.

When our sight is inhibited, our other senses are heightened to compensate for the loss of a visual acuity (Morris 2011). This explains why I would tune into the eery sounds of footsteps or creaking stairs in my house as I lay awake in the darkness. These sounds would make my imagination fire, as instead of thinking logically about the sounds of my parents moving around, instead, I would picture these sounds as being created by intruders in the house. Sight and knowledge are strongly related, and the unknown of what exactly each sound is, results in fear. This demonstrates how the darkness itself contributes to nyctophobia, rather than the fear just constituting negative associations with darkness.

 

Other factors that contribute to nyctophobia that could be further explored include:

• Religious beliefs associating light with divinity (Edensor 2015)
• Language enforcing negative associations with darkness (Edensor 2015)
• Emotional and sensitive characteristics (First 2005)

 

Word count: 500

Bibliography

Devereux, G. (1949) ‘A note on nyctophobia and peripheral vision’ Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic. 13 (3), pp. 83-93

Edensor, T. (2015) ‘Introduction to geographies of darkness’, Cultural Geographies 22(4) pp. 559-565

Enoch J, McDonald L, Jones L, Jones PR, Crabb DP (2019) ‘Evaluating Whether Sight Is the Most Valued Sense’. JAMA Ophthalmol 137(11), pp. 1317-1320

First, L. R. (2005) ‘Shining a light on nyctophobia (Behaviour: ask the experts)’ Contemporary pediatrics , Montvale, N.J. 22 (4), p18

Morris, N.J. (2011) ‘Night walking: darkness and sensory perception in a night-time landscape installation’, Cultural Geographies 18(3) pp. 315-342

Slurpy Studios Animation (2018) FunnyBones – Intro Theme Tune Animated Titles, [Online] Available at: <https://youtu.be/YeqqskFen68> [Accessed 28/03/2022]

Mar 23, 2022

COVID-19 has caused significant changes to the societal norms of touching behaviours, resulting in wide-spread touch deprivation and its negative impacts. Upon listening to Anatomy of Touch (BBC Sounds 2020), I was prompted to reflect on both my own and others’ experiences following the COVID-19 restrictions.

From early on in the pandemic, it was made clear that COVID-19 spreads easily between those who are in close contact (Nussbaumer-Streit et al. 2020), so consistent public health messages stated the importance of maintaining physical distancing (Durkin et al. 2021). Physical barriers and signs (figure 1) were found in almost every public place and reinforced the prohibition of touching.

Resultantly, we quickly experienced changes in touching behaviours such as hugging and handshaking on a global scale – not to mention the impact of lockdowns causing many to be “isolated and alone for weeks or months with no physical contact” (Durkin et al. 2021, p4). Our previous social norms of touching were severely and abruptly disrupted as society generally complied with government guidance.

In the height of the pandemic, it was almost impossible to not see social distancing or cleaning measures everywhere you looked in an urban area. This enhanced the fear I felt towards the virus, as well as the fear of coming into close contact with other people. I found it strange coming out of lockdown restrictions for the first time and being unable to avoid other people in busy places, particularly on trains. I felt unnerved being close to so many people and made sure to take many precautionary measures to reduce the likelihood of touching anyone or anything that I could avoid. Whilst I, and society as a whole, have significantly relaxed since then, touch anxiety and touch starvation still persist across society as the fear of the virus continues.

Pierce (2020, np) states that “touch starvation increases stress, depression and anxiety”, whilst Field (2002) found that the absence of affectionate touch can contribute to higher levels of aggression in adolescents. Whilst I experienced increased anxiety during the lockdown and periods of touch restrictions, I hadn’t previously linked the two together – although it is possible that they were related. I remember talking with friends about how much we missed hugging each other, despite not giving this much importance before lockdown. We only realised how important this small physical contact was after it was taken from us. Although hugging has now returned, greeting friends and acquaintances with a hug can sometimes pose a slightly awkward situation where it wasn’t previously, as each individual determines whether the other is comfortable with the associated risk of touching each other in a pandemic. Despite this, since the lifting of lockdown, the media has been saturated with emotional videos of family and friends hugging for the first time since the easing of restrictions (ITV News 2020):

Videos such as this demonstrate the importance of touch for humans, in terms of confirming close relationships between people as well as showing affection.

 

Word count: 498

Bibliography

BBC Sounds (2020) ‘Touch Hunger’. [podcast] Anatomy of Touch. Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000n5f1> [Accessed 22 March 2022].

Durkin, J., Jackson, D., Usher, K. (2021) ‘Touch in times of COVID-19: Touch hunger hurts’. Journal of clinical nursing 30(1-2), e4-e5.

Field, T. (2002) ‘Violence and touch deprivation in adolescents. Adolescence, 37(148), p735

ITV News (2020) ‘Coronavirus: Loved ones in England hug for the first time in 10 weeks | ITV News’. Youtube. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0JJYUgxdIc> [Accessed 22 March 2022]

Nussbaumer-Streit, B., Mayr, V., Dobrescu, A.I., Chapman, A., Persad, E., Klerings, I., Zachariah, C. (2020) ‘Quarantine alone or in combination with other public health measures to control COVID-19: A rapid review’. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 4.

Pierce, S. (2020) ‘Touch starvation is a consequence of COVID-19’s physical distancing’ – TMC News. [online] Texas Medical Center. Available at: <https://www.tmc.edu/news/2020/05/touch-starvation/> [Accessed 22 March 2022].

Wikipedia Commons (2020) ‘Signs for social distancing at shops during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brisbane, Australia’ [image] Available at: <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Signs_for_social_distancing_at_shops_during_the_COVID-19_pandemic_in_Brisbane,_Australia_02.jpg> [Accessed 22 March 2022].

Mar 22, 2022