Are Pictures Ruining Our Lives?

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messicanbeer “Zagreb, Croatia” via Flickr

Over the summer I went to a concert with my friend. We were very focused on trying to make sure we had photos and videos, but both of our phones died. We still didn’t learn our lesson. We went and took her sister’s phone and used all of her battery. Now, looking back, we do not remember the concert clearly just bits and pieces. Constantly capturing one’s life is causing people to miss out on experiences, form incomplete memories, and annoy others.

Endlessly capturing life is resulting in people missing out on experiences like concerts  and scenic views. Concert tickets are expensive. People spend their money to enjoy the music of an artist they like; however, they are wasting money because they spend most of the concert videotaping songs or taking pictures. People are too focused on trying to remember their experience through videos, rather than enjoying the moment and looking back at the memories.  People also are trying to capture once in a lifetime experiences on video, missing out on the real view. After the encounter is gone all they have is a poor quality video.

Because people are constantly taking pictures while doing activities, they don’t remember their experiences as well. While phones and cameras have a quality for capturing circumstances such as a family photo, they depict views poorly. When people encounter a gorgeous view their first reaction is to snap a picture of it, rather than take in and enjoy the view. Later if asked how beautiful it was they will pull out their phone and show the half decent picture they took. If asked to explain the scene or tell how magnificent it was people are not able to explain the full beauty of the view because instead of enjoying the outlook, they tried to capture it resulting in a poor recollection of the experience.

When out for a meal people expect to talk and enjoy the time together. Today people are texting, emailing, and updating social media all to avoid interacting with other people. When waiters bring the food ordered the general thing to do is to eat the meals. However, people seem to pull out their cell phones and Instagram or Snapchat a picture of their meal before taking the first bite. Not only does this waste time trying to get good lighting, cause the food to cool, but most obnoxiously it annoys the people you are dining with. The definition of annoying is irritatingly bothersome.  When someone pulls out their phone during a meal a majority of people feel this emotion causing them to become distant, rude, or cold towards the other person for the remainder of the meal.

People may argue videos help to look back on old concerts, and blurry pictures are better than never seeing the event again. A few people may even say it’s enjoyable when Twitter is full of people’s lunches; however, that is mostly not the case. In a survey done by the New York Times more than 60% of people say they could not remember life experiences because they were trying to acquire the perfect picture to post on social media.

Everyone knows the aggravating moment when out at dinner with someone whose first reaction when handed their meal is to take a picture of it. Imagine being at a concert where the audience is focused on the artist singing instead of being focused on their phone and assuring they have the perfect angle. Regularly taking pictures is forcing people to not recall and miss out on experiences, along with annoying others. 

Category : Argument