You don’t need a study to tell you that Australians are obsessed with Instagramming their food. Where it was once considered a little strange to push your plate around the table in search of the best angle, to unsheathe your smartphone, tap away at it and let your dish go cold as you tried to get a decent Wi-Fi connection, today it’s considered a little strange not to.

Nevertheless, a study has been done – and the results confirm that we are indeed a nation of techno-foodies.

Conducted in Australia, the United States and United Kingdom by the online booking platform OpenTable, the study found that 68 per cent of Australians use their smartphones at restaurants to photograph their food purely to remember the occasion.

Australians also proved surprisingly willing to let restaurants research them prior to their arrival in the interest of tailoring a more personal dining experience. Sixty-nine per cent of Australian respondents said they were happy for restaurants to Google them before they rocked up (compared to 64 per cent of US diners and 61 per cent of British ones), while 48 per cent said they were happy for restaurants to know in advance about special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries.

American and British respondents again proved more reticent, with 43 per cent of the former group and 37 per cent of the latter saying they were okay with restaurants being privy to such information.

Technology is also playing a larger role in how Australian diners order, with 59 per cent accessing diner-generated reviews and photos online, not before visiting a restaurant, but while actually sitting at the table. No need to see the menu, thanks. We’ve got the Internet.

OpenTable’s Asia-Pacific vice president, Lisa Hasen, said the study showed how technology was fundamentally changing the dining experience globally.

“Generally speaking, Aussies have a relaxed approach to dining out,” she said, “so it’s no surprise most aren’t fazed by being searched online prior to arriving at the restaurant.”

According to the study, 51 per cent of Australians eat at a casual restaurant at least once a week and 44 per cent at full-service restaurants. Only thirty-four per cent of the 2528 Australians surveyed said they ate takeaway at least once a week.

A majority of respondents said restaurants – from the humble takeaway joint to the starched-napkin temples of gastronomy – could utilise technology in a bigger way.

That gets a big Facebook like from us.