Not only are they not reviews in any meaningful sense of the word (having a phone and an opinion is not de facto interesting), but the algorithmically selected traffic-driving content is so vapid and devoid of any expertise, soul, and taste. The end result is a dining public that goes to restaurants in pursuit of a homogenized experience—dishes researched, minds made up—and they leave disappointed because the experience didn’t live up to the hype. And how could it?! Taste and palette vary and half the joy of restaurants is being taken care of by skilled professionals who curate an experience for YOU: for your palette, to your tastes, to your sense of value. Foodie social media encourages us to leave that part of hospitality behind and restaurants are the worse for it.
