I have always been a firm believer in taking pictures, as I have had a love for photography since an early age. It seems to me that pictures are great ways to capture special moments so that we can remember them forever. They are reminders of the best of times or how we got over the worst of them. They help remind us of who we are, and of all of the experiences and people that influenced how we got to be that way. They are endlessly there to maintain a special place for our past friends, family and memories that we may have forgotten or lost memory of otherwise.
Pictures really can be worth a thousand words…or at least they used to be. The ideology of, "If you didn’t take a picture, then did it really happen?" has prevailed in today’s society. Now, a lot of people see the sole purpose of going somewhere special or doing something fun is so that we can take a picture to post on our social media profiles. This is sad. People should go out, experience the world and take pictures to preserve the memory of a trip or outing, not to just say they did something and post it to their profile without fully immersing themselves in an experience. People shouldn’t feel the need to take a picture to get approval or envy from the rest of the world; they should be taking them to remember exciting or pivotal moments that they cherish for themselves and actually want to recall.
No longer are pictures being used to preserve memories; rather people are doing things just for the purpose of getting a picture. The memories now turn into going to places to take a picture rather than going somewhere to enjoy the place itself. At Santa Monica Pier the other day, some teenage girls went around to just take new profile pictures for Facebook and then proceeded to leave right after they were finished. This is astounding to me. They went to a place filled with a bunch of things to do around the area and only took "candid" pictures the entire time they were there. Don't go to the beach just for a new profile picture, go to the beach (or anywhere else) because you actually want to go to there.
Additionally, these new “memories” that people are creating are distorted due to the amounts of filters, effects and retouching that phones have allowed us to do. I have caught myself being guilty of this sometimes, and then I remember how annoyed I am with myself when I play into this system. We, especially us younger generations, are stuck in a cycle of remembering a type of false reality perpetuated by artificial editing and false reasons for going out to do something with your friends or family.
Don’t let taking a picture be the only memory you keep when you travel somewhere amazing. Fully embrace your experience, and if you want to take a picture for yourself, then do so. Just keep in mind that you should take a picture for yourself so that you can remember and cherish a memory, and not so that everyone else knows you have a "perfect" social life where you are always candidly laughing.
