Live in the Moment
Let's take a quick look at society today. Everyone carries around a smartphone everywhere they go, ready to snap a picture at any given moment. There's even this idea that if you don't take pictures and post them to some form of social media, did you really even go? However, what's the point of this? It turns people into narcissistic "image-junkies." It makes us feel like we're connected to the rest of the world, when actually, photos make us detached from society. When people take pictures to post from their trips, they most likely alter the photographs to make them seem more beautiful - to make people more jealous. Photographs don't tell the whole story, thus making it difficult to further our knowledge of the world. I myself have over 2,000 photos just sitting in my camera roll. But why? To look back and evoke memories from the past? Or to post throwback pictures on Instagram and make people wish they were me? Most likely the latter; looking back at old pictures doesn't really elicit great memories from the past--it just shows one tiny moment where I may have been laughing. When looking back at pictures, I most likely don't know what I was laughing about or what was going on behind the camera. But yet, I still keep these photos in my camera roll--for the sole reason of showing off what a great life I supposedly have. Unfortunately, this is how society works today. However, after reading Sontag's piece about photographs, I have been inspired to try not capture everything on camera, but instead live in the moment.
HAHA this is so funny. I see your perspective, but in my case, I don't really have a social media to post my pictures. I have to admit, it does make me a bit jealous to see everyone sharing photos. I mean, it does sound fun. But for me, it would be more like this blog? I like to look back at pictures, and I think if they're personal, they can bring back a lot of memories. I also really enjoy photography, and I think it's a stretch to say that I'm trying to show off my life through that. I think it might depend on the person. In the end, photos are just photos. Being too obsessed with something that shows a better version of what actually is in front of us can be... sad. There's a reason why Instagram makes us depressed. We're living in a false reality. Looking back at the "good pictures" only brings fond memories. It tends to block out the negatives, past or present. I do feel like we're often trying to highlight the best. I agree that's how society works today. I like your concluding statement about living in the moment because I definitely agree.
ReplyDeleteI agree that people often take an excessive amount of pictures for the wrong reasons in today's society, such as creating an image of themselves that makes them seem higher than others. But I also think that pictures are important because they can allow you to reminisce about something that was special to you from the past. That was the original intent for photographs, though the use of pictures has become corrupted with things like social media.
ReplyDeleteI like keeping photos in my camera roll - probably to excessive extent, but I have a really bad memory, and I'm always afraid if I don't keep it now then I'll forget it forever. I guess this is a bad way to live; always afraid of forgetting the past, never able to live in the present. I think I'm too attached little things like photos that, in the grand scheme of things, won't really matter. But isn't that what life's about - taking things that are insignificant and making them important, for no reason other than that we want to, and that they matter to us? Personally, there are Instagram pictures that I've deleted that I wish I didn't, because those are memories I no longer can access, and moments of reminiscence that I no longer can experience. Maybe that just means I have more room to make memories in the future.
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