The saying every child uttered under their breath to figure out the directions of a compass, or maybe it was just me. But of course, I told my little brother to Never Eat Soggy Weet-Bix while I poured the milk (with only 2% fat) over his 2 Weet-Bix around 10 years ago.
We were living in a rare time. We were paying around 30cents for breakfast. When big Brett Lee came about in 2011, and told us that he did 7 Weet-Bix. He posed the notorious question “How many do you do?”. Which saw the cost of breakfast rise as we all competed to beat him.
But seriously. $1 for breakfast. Today, that sounds criminal.
When did all of this change?
Instagram was created in 2010. In the past 7 years since Instagram was released, revenue for coffee shops in Australia have increase by 28.8%. In the 7 years prior to Instagram existing, the same industry only saw an 8.6% increase in revenues (Ibisworld – Coffee Shops in Australia). Our lives have been consumed by social media and the trend of awkwardly leaning over a table to take an artistic photo of our food has become our norm.
The online presence of coffee shops, hasn’t only normalized the concept of brunches, but has created an obsession with sharing our overly priced avo smash, orange juice and strong soy latte on social media. This trend has also seen our expectation of the delivery and presentation of food skyrocket. If it doesn’t look good enough to go on my Insta, it’s not worth buying.
Are our taste and wants forever going to be unrealistic because of this digital marketing influence on social media? Or could we one day return to our $1 Weetbix life?
Dig It Al Up 
In all honesty I am sure I would be ashamed at the amount of money I spend on brunches! Brunching has become a social activity, not just in the form of posting your meal on Instagram, but in the sense that it’s what you do when you catch up with someone. This foodie culture, however, has definitely been driven by the rise of social platforms. Sadly I think smashed avo will continue to dominate the humble Weetbix!
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Emily, I could not agree more. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s my biggest expense. I said goodbye to the Weet-bic years ago. But it does make me wonder when we leave uni and look to start saving and putting money down on houses, will we find it harder to let go of the luxuries which are so normal to us now?
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And we’re back to the smashed avo vs house conundrum….
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Not saying we should stop eating it, it’s too damn good. Just interesting. What do you think?
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I agree with Elliot and Emily! Instagram has definitely changed the way we do things in our own lives, even without posting it on Instagram I still feel the need to have that insta perfect brunch! And I agree it makes me worry about ever being able to afford a house in the future when I’ll just drop $20 on a meal that should in reality be the cheapest of the day! I think Instagram has such an influence on what the new cool hip thing is and so companies can make the prices for these things expensive. I say we all go back to good old weetbix until they make smashed avo a normal price! (I say as I’m eating brunch) Ah we can dream though right!?
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Couldn’t agree more. If you see a meal that doesn’t look like a photo you’ve seen then you already feel a little let down.
I feel it’s changing the entire food industry. How food is packaged at the supermarket to the words and and perceived benefits exaggerated on the packaging. I’m a sucker for food out and I’ll be the first to admit that our expectations are getting out of hand haha! Brunch anyone?
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Also- the “never eat soggy weetbix” was literally the only way I learnt about the compass directions!
But yes I agree with everyone you’ve said! It’s like those crazy milkshakes and burgers that are literallly EVERYWHERE on Facebook (or maybe it’s because I like food pages 🤔) but anyway they always look amazing then you get it and it’s not like that you’re so disappointed and angry! Great topic though so much to talk about! 🙂
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It is pretty much impossible to avoid seeing food online these days and I don’t even have Instagram. It seems like our busier lifestyles paired with the constant social media pressure have made eating out a common staple. Whether its for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or even dunch (apparently a thing now) getting food is just the best way to satisfy our cravings and socialise at the same time.
As for the unrealistic argument, as long as the taste is there I feel like the slight drop in appearance between the advertisement and the real thing won’t discourage people to much. As you mentioned above I think funding is the real threat. Maybe it is time we all went back to the weetbix.
Great article 👍
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Yes I’m with you about the taste. It’s the reason we eat! It’s just crazy how some of it looks these days. When did it become normal to put grass on my scrambled eggs?
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I think it’s fantastic that Instagram can boost the financials of more industries than just themselves!
My old housemate owned a café in South Melbourne and he relied heavily on social media and getting creative with the appearance of the food he served up. But how great to inspire an industry to get more creative. Imagine going out to breakky and there was just bacon, eggs, toast and hashbrowns – American style.
I also think that Instagram has affected Melbourne much more quickly than it has in other countries around the world. I lived in Brazil last year on exchange and food there rarely came looking as beautiful as it does in Melbourne. It was rare and exciting to find a cafe doing Latte Art.
I wonder what other industries Instagram can inspire to get creative and earn more all in the name of a pretty picture?
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This is true. We obviously see the effect based on our social network, location and values because of the people we follow.
I think it’s been amazing seeing the food industry develop. It’s allowed a coffee shops to become individual, express what they want, while making the entire industry in Melbourne improve to keep up with consumer expectations.
It’s different depending on the country. I saw in India that selfies are where it’s at which was interesting.
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Interesting post! I definitely think Instagram has made a huge influence on restaurants, cafe and the ‘eating out’ culture. Now there are so many Instagram pages dedicated to the various eating places in Melbourne which has encouraged consumers to go to restaurants just so they can take these pictures to post on their socials! It is crazy to think how so many restaurants now gain customers through social media.
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Great Post! Unfortunately I don’t think people will go back to their $1 breakfast (at least they won’t post about it online). Instagram is at the end of the day an “insight” into peoples lives, and they are only going to share the best parts of it; so that means their expensive breakfast makes the cut. It is a little bit of a show off factor, but also is great advertising for the cafes. So at the end of the day its a win win for the customers (instagram users) and the cafes so the trend of increasing breakfast prices will continue
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So true. I think Instagram is becoming the look-at-me-my-life-is-better-then-yours which is what you were leaning towards regarding the best part of people’s days.
It’s great for the cafe’s and the quality is only getting more exciting. They put charred corn and chilli with your avo smash these days.
Bring back the Bix
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Hey, I really loved the way you started your post! Instagram has influenced so much of how we’ve run our lives that I feel the urge to search up or go visit a place which i’ve just seen! I’m guilty of splurging on what seems ro be like an amazing brunch but the regrets start to pour in later, especially in terms of the financial side! It would be good to turn back to old ways, but with how far this ‘trend’ has gone, I think it’ll just get bigger
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Thanks so much, just start with a bit of honesty.
I couldn’t agree more. It only hits you when you look at your expenses for the week and realise you could have saved so many dollars if Brett Lee still played haha.
It’s bigger then a trend now, becoming a social gathering/norm to meet for breaky. Thanks for the input!
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Great read! I’m not a big brunch person myself but I can definitely see the appeal. I actually like what Instagram has done to the food industry. It’s great exposure for local restaurants and I think it has given a bit of transparency that wasn’t really there before.
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You bank account is lucky!!
Been good and bad for local places I think. The expectation have risen which has caused a lot of cafe’s that were simple and family owned close down. Not always but I’ve noticed a few.
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Such an interesting read! I must admit I have been to thekettleblack and I know it was because my friends are food enthusiasts and had discovered the venue through Instagram. Sometimes they will even search the Instagram hashtag to look through posts and show the waiter what they want to order through the image instead of the menu. So I feel as though social media and Instagram have positively helped the culture and trend for brunch and pick up of small businesses. I think the brunch trend is here to stay. Great read 🙂
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I am a simple man and am more than happy to stick to my weetbix. Unfortunately, an instagram of a bowl of weetbix won’t get the same attention than avocado on toast. More and more cafes incorporate bright coloured foods in their meals as a way to make the food look good to be then posted/talked about online and to ultimately bring in more customers. Very clever. However, it is important to remember that food is eaten with our mouths, not with our eyes and the quality of taste in my opinion is far more important than what the food looks like. Maybe I have just fallen behind the times…..
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Love it, WeetBix just aren’t enough for me. I couldn’t agree with the taste part though. But i think the fact that businesses are creating a pretty picture on the plate, allows them to up the price, resulting in us constantly expecting good tasting and looking food if we are paying $16 for Avo on Toast which can be made at home for around $2.60 (disclaimer: subject to quality of ingredients, includes half and avo and 2 slices of bread).
Every so often ill get out the WeetBix but they just dont do it for me anymore.
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