We are living in a cook or be cooked world, according to the internet lingo of today. Get a photo taken at an unflattering angle and you are obviously «chopped.» Seeing something funny or ridiculous has you «fried.» A young person says something naïve, and they’re «losing recipes.» Plus, stans—the extreme fans of celebrities—copy artists or even themselves, therefore are «reheating nachos» with their work.

We could argue that a lot of social media users are just hungry, but they are salivating over the process rather than the edible end product. Like sweating over a hot stove, posting on social media is a form of labor, and all of this culinary slang stems from that. The purpose is plating up to a potentially large and ever-ravenous audience.