From Eight-Legged Friends to Tasty Trends: Conquering Fears and Savoring Flavors
Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, is a widespread phobia that affects numerous people globally. The fear stems from our evolutionary past, as our ancestors had to deal with dangerous spiders in their environment. Inside.com’s article, “5 reasons why you’re so scared of spiders,” states that approximately 75% of people experience some form of arachnophobia, with negative attitudes ranging from dislike to intense fear.
Interestingly, despite this fear, the hashtags #jumpingspider and #spidertok have amassed over 1.5 billion views collectively. In CNN’s article “How jumping spiders became the new ‘it’ pets,” Heather Bruen shared her accidental friendship with one of these creatures on TikTok, and her viewers fell in love with them.
Similarly, our taste preferences are also heavily influenced by our evolutionary history, as we have developed a preference for sweet, salty, and fatty foods for survival. However, social media and the new tech landscape has brought together people with similar interests and changed their perspectives.
Our society has evolved from simply collecting data to curating information and developing search engines. The natural progression from here is to utilize the information we have gathered to break down boundaries and stereotypes.
Imagine a farmers’ market with hundreds of international food offerings, each delicious in their own right. Unless there’s a conscious effort to educate visitors about unfamiliar food options, they may walk past them. Language barriers and lack of exposure can prevent people from enjoying food from different cultures. This is a prime illustration where the current market overlooks potential customers because of a minor obstacle
Like the fear of spiders, our taste preferences are ingrained at an early age, but we can challenge them. TasteDNA aims to bridge the taste gap of individual preferences built on culture and traditions, enabling people to enjoy food from different cultures regardless of language barriers and lack of exposure.
If millions of people can learn to appreciate spiders, we can revolutionize our relationship with food with TasteDNA. Personally, I’ve been on this delicious journey and We are working hard to ensure everyone experiences it too!
