When I reminisce on my childhood, it’s through grainy, out of focus Instamatic pictures; and if I want to watch a video of my first dance recital it would probably take at least a half hour to rewind the cassette tape to the beginning. Digital cameras were nonexistent, film was expensive and it wasn’t easy to get shots that are now known today as “selfies.” Today, we have the technology that our parents and grandparents would have loved to have growing up, but does anyone else feel a little judgment from older generations (don’t get me started on our generation as well) when we take pictures of our food, ourselves, or any other little moment in life?
We live in a world of Instagram, front-facing cameras, photo editing services, self-timer, and a hundred other innovations that revolutionize visual culture. Photographs, no matter from what era, are ways to document a specific moment, time, feeling, or story. It’s not uncommon to snap a picture of your delicious looking dinner before eating it, or to take a photo of yourself whenever you feel like it. It’s easy! It’s accessible! It’s right at our fingertips (literally)! Why would you not want to store as many memories as you can?
Could you imagine the images we would see if Marilyn Monroe took mirror selfies? Or how about behind the scenes photos of the Mona Lisa being painted? Thomas Edison creating the electrical light bulb? I would even be happy with snapshots of everyday people some number of years ago. Think about it, today’s scholars make educated guesses on the way people lived based on any visual information they have through found visuals via clothing, hairstyles, background clues, housing landscape, and pretty much anything else available. When we take casual photos today, even though we might not realize it, we’re contributing to history.
“Getting the perfect picture” is something I, as well as many other people my age, try to do- whether it is during a big event, or as little as something like the shoes you’re wearing that day. Still, I see some people knocking others down for trying to create the perfect snapshot. I will say, I do agree that if you’re so focused on getting pictures that you’re not enjoying yourself with what’s going on around you, that is a problem. Besides that, I see nothing wrong with taking a few seconds of your time and capturing the specific moment you’re experiencing.
We are the most visual generation of all time. We have the technology, we have the accessibility, we have the knowledge. Who knows where we will be in fifty years. A hundred years. Maybe in five hundred years a scholar will come across Miley Cyrus’ Instagram and think that’s how the average person was in the twenty-first century (it could happen). Besides, in 40 years, I think the last thing I’ll say is “wow I wish I had fewer pictures of my life.” So Instagram that photo of your mouth-watering chocolate cake, Snapchat a view of the city you’re in, and get that perfect picture if you really want to. You could go down in history for it.
