It often is said that trends start on the East and West coasts and then migrate to the Midwest. That is helpful so we can see what’s coming and decide whether the trend, law or whatever other new and different behavior or language is applicable here. One trend that hasn’t been adopted as intensely locally is people’s penchant to taking photographs of their food at restaurants and then posting the photos on social media sites.

That doesn’t sound like a big deal until reading reports of people going overboard and standing up in their restaurant booth to capture just the right angle of the food or stopping fellow diners from eating until photos have been taken of all of their food, too. What is the attraction? Apparently some “foodies” just enjoy showing off the cuisine they intend to consume. Some people even use the photos as ways to recommend ­— or not — the fare at specific restaurants.

The practice of shooting photos of food has gotten so bad at some restaurants that, according to a report in the New York Times, some restaurants are forbidding diners to take photos of their food out of concern for other diners and to protect their chefs’ works of art. Reaction has ranged from outrage to acceptance as well as joy from diners who are tired of camera flashes going off and ruining the ambiance of their dining experience. Though some photographing of food occurs at local restaurants, not surprisingly, none have risen to the level that diners have to be asked to leave the restaurant.

Midwesterners tend to lean toward common sense and practicality so plates get cleaned up for the nourishment of diners’ bodies rather than consumption of social media voyeurs. Hopefully both will prevail here from both restaurateurs and diners alike.