We live in a world in which it isn’t completely impolite to use phones during dinner. We like to be connected at all times. Whether it is sneak-texting under the table or making a move in “Words with Friends,” we are glued to those five by three inch devices.
But when someone uses his or her phone to methodically take pictures of the food he or she is about to consume? With the flash on? Don’t get me started.
What do people even do with the food pictures they take?
They don’t save them for particularly hungry rainy days — they post them on Yelp. Of course, their still-life photos of Applebee’s 2 for $20 entrees help future food-consumers decide which restaurant has the better-looking artisanal pizza or the coffee shop with the most eye-catching latte foam.
Yelp users also leave reviews to accompany their pictures. Although one might think a short paragraph is a reasonable length for a review on pizza or a coffee shop’s ambience, yelpers are notorious for leaving 500 words on their entire dining experience. They exclude nothing — the parking, the hostess and the percent tip are all major components of the Yelp-review experience.
More baffling, however, is that we actually read the reviews. I cannot remember the last time I went to a new place without looking it up on Yelp. Everything is pre-planned. It’s very rare to go to a new place spontaneously. Perhaps even more pathetically, I sometimes look up my favorite places to see the snarky reviews users leave in a secret guilty pleasure.
And it’s not just dining that’s on Yelp — almost anything can be reviewed. ASU, the Grand Canyon, Central Park and the Washington Monument are all subject to the cutting criticism of Yelp reviewers.
Do people actually turn to Yelp reviews before planning their vacation to Washington D.C? Don’t you know what you’re getting yourself into if you’re going to the Grand Canyon? Do you need a Yelp review to tell you what shoes to bring and where to park?
And since when are we leaving college reviews on Yelp? Isn’t that what College Board is for? ASU has a whopping 3.5 stars on Yelp, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing down enrollment in the slightest.
How much is too much? With Yelp’s 27 million reviews, and 71 million views per month, something tells me that this generation is a little too eager to stay connected to things.
Interestingly enough, Yelp hasn’t caught on in Europe like it has here. Only recently has Europe adopted “Qype” – a Yelp equivalent with only 860,000 reviews and 26 million unique views a month.
Perhaps Americans aren’t as flexible with their schedules. We’re too caught up in planning and maybe we’re even overly opinionated. We appear very focused on prearrangements and nit-pickiness.
Maybe we would benefit from opening our minds up, closing the computer, going for a walk and leaving our phones at home. You know, maybe spontaneously trying that restaurant around the corner from home.
You never know, you may find a new favorite hangout.
Reach the columnist at Obrunaci@asu.edu or follow her at @OBrunacini
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