Ever since the smartphone revolution, a photography revolution has followed in its wake.
According to the Pew Research Internet project, 90 percent of Americans have a cellphone and 58 percent have a smartphone. That means 58 percent of Americans have a camera on them at nearly all times.
Photography has boomed as a consequence of the dramatic increase in smartphone usage. With constant access to a camera, anyone can take a picture of almost anything at any time and any place. That means practically anyone can be a photographer.
As an art form, photography has flourished because of the greater popularity and accessibility of taking photos. But while art has the smartphone industry to thank for the growing popularity in photography, our psyches may not.
Social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, encourage us to constantly update our profiles and add pictures frequently to better keep us in touch with our friends and followers. The craze to constantly document every dinner, gathering, party, etc. has stemmed from smartphone camera accessibility and the subsequent social media networks that promote the use of the phone camera.
Although viewing pictures of yourself with your friends may be fun or interesting to you, for those that were left out of the particular event, it is not fun. More than that, it is hurtful to feel excluded from a group outing and to have it shoved in your face, post after post, the next day on Facebook or Instagram. FOMO, fear of missing out, is a phenomenon that emerged from this negative consequence of the constant photo updates that users like to share on social media. You are exposed to everything you are not doing or are not a part of almost 24/7 when you look at Facebook and Instagram. Much of the effect of this depends upon the person, but for many it can really affect their self-esteem.
All of the picture-taking in conjunction with social media raises the question, are we living the moments we photographed or are we living through the photographs of those moments?
It's up to the smartphone photographer to figure that one out.
