Apart from physiological requirements, eating has always been a culturally important aspect of life. People’s food habits are affected by various factors, including location, health, diet preferences, beliefs, etc. In recent times, if you crave pizza, the Dominos food app can deliver your favourite pizza within minutes. This new culture of instant food-delivery apps is revolutionizing the food habits of people in India. Let’s look at a few examples.
- Ease of ordering food:
Ordering food would require one call to their preferred restaurant, which included having their number and a physical menu. The restaurant would also have to be in close vicinity to make the delivery. Today, you can download a food delivery app, set up an account quickly and order food with a few clicks from any restaurant you want. There is no need to make a call or have a menu. If you want a customized burger at a certain time and place, you can just leave the instructions to the kitchen as well as the delivery person. Ordering food has never been easier.
- Rise in options:
With many big and small restaurants and eateries getting the chance to establish an online presence, the customer is flooded with the choice of delicacies. Earlier, we used to decide what to eat and then order, but now, one can scroll through the app and choose and pick according to their mood and preferences. With food delivery apps, a lot of people get to try new cuisines which they wouldn’t have tried otherwise. Be it Domino’s pizzas or Haldiram’s sweets, the options are abundant.
- Dining out replaced by ordering in:
Eating at a restaurant was not just about food but the experience of dining out itself. People would spend a whole day or a significant part of their time for planning, deciding on a restaurant, reserving a table, and socializing with friends, family or colleagues. Even though the tradition of dining out still exists, the culture of ordering in food and socializing indoors is being preferred due to the ease of ordering food online. The pandemic has only encouraged this further. From cuisine-specific restaurants to food chains like Burger King, every other restaurant which previously provided the experience of eating out is also allowing the comfort of ordering in.
- Effects on health:
Ordering food online has affected people’s health in both positive and negative ways.. People looking for healthier eating options can find them online and even customize their food orders according to their diet preferences. However, since people look forward to ordering food on special occasions, like parties, social events or after a hard day at work, or at home, or want to avoid cooking due to a shortage of time, they prefer to order comfort foods, which might not always be healthy. Fast food outlets are preferred over home cooked meals, which might affect the health of people.
People are mostly influenced by the quickness of the fast food delivery apps and choose it over having to cook elaborate meals at home. Be it a dessert or a burger delivery, if it can be done within minutes, who would want to spend hours to make them from scratch? Technology has made the human lifestyle fast-paced and its effects can be felt in every area or life, including food and social habits.