Participant Observation On Fast Food

The study of people has been going on for a very long time and over that time researchers have focused on a variety of topics to explore to help us understand human beings. One of the ideas that have been under study is food. Food can tell you a lot, not only about one person but a whole society as well. What we eat, the way we go about eating, how much we eat, why we eat, etc. all come together to help describe a person and/or society. The purpose of this assignment was to take part in participant observation by having a meal with at least one other person. The goal is to analyze and question everything even things that may seem average and customary when having a meal. My meal took place at McDonald's which is a fast food restaurant that

My father ordered a Big Mac meal that came with a Big Mac a large drink and a medium fries. I then ordered a cheeseburger and a medium drink. A Big Mac has two beef patties separated by a bun, iceberg lettuce, pickles, and the McDonald’s special sauce all inside two sesame seed buns while a cheeseburger just has one beef patty, a slice of cheese, ketchup, diced onions, and two pickles. All of that together was $8.79 which is fairly inexpensive for a dinner for two people. My father was the one who paid the bill. Both my father and I filled our cup full of ice before pouring our drinks from the fountain. He got tropic berry Sprite while my drink was Hawaiian Punch. After we ordered I took some disposable napkins to our table and we sat there and sipped on drinks until our order was ready. I picked our seats which were in a booth next to the window. There was a lamp hanging from above the table shining down on us. When I looked around I could see other people in the fast food restaurant. At first glance, there was a Latina mother, father, and daughter at one table. Sitting at

It may suggest low or middle class due to money or we just didn’t have enough time for a homemade meal. Me getting a cheeseburger with very little on it versus my dad getting hamburgers with lettuce, tomato, and pickles can hint at our different opinions on health and how much importance we put into it. You can guess that either nutrition has become more important to my dad over time because of the fact that he’s getting older or maybe he was raised on the idea that you are supposed to eat healthier. But either way by putting vegetables on something it gives the impression that, that food is more healthy. Since my father got a larger drink that he filled multiple times and at the end took the drink with him you can guess that he was trying to get the most out of his money which could also lead to social class. Taking the napkins to go also expresses his unwillingness to waste anything and could hint to how much/little he had growing up. The different types of people eating at McDonald’s from their various ages and races you can tell that McDonald’s isn’t geared toward one specific group of people. It shows that McDonald’s continues to be a part of the United State’s culture from when one is a young child to when one is in their adult years. It could also be that because people went to McDonald’s as