I've thought a lot about this spectacle. It truly is off putting as someone wanting to experience a place. But part of an experience is also wanting to remember a place. We document with photos now but we used to use journals. Whether it's in the cloud or in a book, we want to document our lives and say we were here. That we are all doing it in the same place at the same time is a new phenomenon, but in an increasingly global world there is truly so much to experience! And to document! I hate that other people are doing it even as I want to do it myself!
You’re absolutely right of course. There should be nothing wrong with taking a photo as a memento of your experience, but we’ve taken the behaviour to such extremis it’s almost a pathology. I suppose the difference between a photo and a notebook is that when writing notes or drawing a sketch you’re actually looking deeper at the object in question, in order to record it better — I’m sure you’ll have found that to be the case with your lovely illustrations. Whereas when you snap a quick photo you can just turn your brain off safe in the knowledge that you’ve ‘captured’ it.
“We’d rather the appearance of a good life, to actually living one.” - Summed up nicely and sadly. Phones, clouds, anything but the real. We were in The Louvre a few years ago for the first time and could not get close to the Mona Lisa for the horde crammed together, worshipping with their camera devices, not really seeing. It’s even more barbarous when this goes on in nature’s glories.
As one who’s made her living through computers, I feel this acutely. I love what I can create using them - I despise them for pulling me away from real life. Never in humanity’s history have so many been so utterly enthralled.
Bravo M.E.!!!!!! You’ve always been a great writer but there was a certain sharpness, heart, soul, and…dare it say…compassion here that I really loved. You took the debate out of the us/them framework…those who love to record and those who loath it. Bravo. You offered a fresh perspective that challenged us to really wonder about why we “do it for the ‘gram.”
"We have become archivists of the self, I thought, curators of a life half-lived....We frame our lives through lenses, filters, and screens, trading the chaotic beauty of reality for a sanitised, editable version. Our photographs are not memories; they are advertisements, billboards for a life we are too preoccupied to live." Yes, to everything written and emphasis added to 'billboards for a life we are too preoccupied to live.' I'm not much of a picture person because I know I can never truly capture the beauty I see, but those who do it for the sake of doing it and not to capture for memories are a sad reflection on this deity who is nothing more than bits and bytes. Fingers crossed and thumbs held there is time to turn this thing around.
I didn't read this on my phone. Whew! But wait...I still read it on a screen. In any case, I had already half-formulated similar thoughts to yours in my mind -- less eloquently, of course. My conclusion is this: If we have no spectral presence in the Cloud, we don't exist!
Brilliant. I tried to express similar points in some recent writing, but this is more succinct. The analogy of 'content' as an offering to new type of god is very compelling. Our universal complicity is depressing. Even this lame comment is just another offering, isn't it. I hope the cloud is sated.
Every sentenced chimed with my inner being. Of course we have nothing to fear but our own stupidity and demise into becoming ultimate automatons. More BNW than BB I feel…
I like your take here, even I don't fully agree. I wonder if the next step in our archival evolution is learning what, where, and when we should be recording - there are certainly some places that are better than others
Thanks for this wonderfully thought out and worded essay. Some years ago, I stopped taking photos on my travels. This article was an epiphany: https://thenextweb.com/news/our-obsession-with-taking-photos-is-changing-how-we-remember-the-past. It appears that our memories are dependent on the extent to which our experiences are embedded in our selves and reinforced by being recalled. It appears that taking photos rather than immersing ourselves in the experience leads to poorer recall of the event. Reconstructing our past histories from these photographs might actually lead to distorted renderings.
That’s fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing. Might have to adopt a no photos policy myself. Feels a revolutionary act to do a thing without documenting now
I often make sketches of scenes I love rather than take a photo. Years later I can still look at the drawings in my notebooks and remember the scene, along with the feeling that inspired the drawing in the first place.
Maybe what we hope to hold onto with a photo--the energy and feeling of a place--is better captured in another form. Although it does take longer.....and we're all SO busy 😉
Amazing piece, you should write more like this one. (Not that I want you to do less with paintings and maps, of course!) Probably amazing to me because I just really connect with that feeling that somehow combines contempt and a kind of wonder at how much people live their experiences through selfies and seeing themselves in front of certain places, certain works of art. Rather than seeing the place, the art.
Many years ago, after a visit to Turkey (including Cappadocia), a person I was dating broke up with me, apparently based on what she thought was my "true" attitude towards her that was revealed during the trip. After asking for specifics, it basically boiled down to the fact that mid-trip I had become tired of taking pictures of her in front of various beautiful views or feats of architecture; if a picture had to be taken (rarely a necessity), I began refusing to take one if it had her or I in it. That's when she became disenchanted with me! After learning this, I felt pretty relieved that she was breaking up with me.
Yeah sounds like it was a good idea to part ways at that point. Freya India wrote a great piece recently called “Your boyfriend is not your cameraman” which laments this exact behaviour
I've thought a lot about this spectacle. It truly is off putting as someone wanting to experience a place. But part of an experience is also wanting to remember a place. We document with photos now but we used to use journals. Whether it's in the cloud or in a book, we want to document our lives and say we were here. That we are all doing it in the same place at the same time is a new phenomenon, but in an increasingly global world there is truly so much to experience! And to document! I hate that other people are doing it even as I want to do it myself!
You’re absolutely right of course. There should be nothing wrong with taking a photo as a memento of your experience, but we’ve taken the behaviour to such extremis it’s almost a pathology. I suppose the difference between a photo and a notebook is that when writing notes or drawing a sketch you’re actually looking deeper at the object in question, in order to record it better — I’m sure you’ll have found that to be the case with your lovely illustrations. Whereas when you snap a quick photo you can just turn your brain off safe in the knowledge that you’ve ‘captured’ it.
Writing and drawing engage you in a way tapping a touch screen cannot.
Absolutely true.
“We’d rather the appearance of a good life, to actually living one.” - Summed up nicely and sadly. Phones, clouds, anything but the real. We were in The Louvre a few years ago for the first time and could not get close to the Mona Lisa for the horde crammed together, worshipping with their camera devices, not really seeing. It’s even more barbarous when this goes on in nature’s glories.
When I was in the room w the Mona Lisa I took pix of the crowd. I was amazed at what I was seeing that was NOT art nor beautiful.
As one who’s made her living through computers, I feel this acutely. I love what I can create using them - I despise them for pulling me away from real life. Never in humanity’s history have so many been so utterly enthralled.
Bravo M.E.!!!!!! You’ve always been a great writer but there was a certain sharpness, heart, soul, and…dare it say…compassion here that I really loved. You took the debate out of the us/them framework…those who love to record and those who loath it. Bravo. You offered a fresh perspective that challenged us to really wonder about why we “do it for the ‘gram.”
Well done!
“Zeus threw not lightening bolts, but 5G download speeds.” 😆😂
Right?! I love this sentiment! One of the many, the whole article! lol
I have one suggestion.
If the cloud is on servers… killing it is technically an option.
Great essay, all jokes aside. You see something very clearly.
"We have become archivists of the self, I thought, curators of a life half-lived....We frame our lives through lenses, filters, and screens, trading the chaotic beauty of reality for a sanitised, editable version. Our photographs are not memories; they are advertisements, billboards for a life we are too preoccupied to live." Yes, to everything written and emphasis added to 'billboards for a life we are too preoccupied to live.' I'm not much of a picture person because I know I can never truly capture the beauty I see, but those who do it for the sake of doing it and not to capture for memories are a sad reflection on this deity who is nothing more than bits and bytes. Fingers crossed and thumbs held there is time to turn this thing around.
I didn't read this on my phone. Whew! But wait...I still read it on a screen. In any case, I had already half-formulated similar thoughts to yours in my mind -- less eloquently, of course. My conclusion is this: If we have no spectral presence in the Cloud, we don't exist!
Sad but true!
Brilliant. I tried to express similar points in some recent writing, but this is more succinct. The analogy of 'content' as an offering to new type of god is very compelling. Our universal complicity is depressing. Even this lame comment is just another offering, isn't it. I hope the cloud is sated.
Every sentenced chimed with my inner being. Of course we have nothing to fear but our own stupidity and demise into becoming ultimate automatons. More BNW than BB I feel…
I like your take here, even I don't fully agree. I wonder if the next step in our archival evolution is learning what, where, and when we should be recording - there are certainly some places that are better than others
Hi. You might be interested in a book called The Ascent of Information by Caleb Scarf.
I’ll check it out, thank Wil!
Enjoyable and ashamed, to miss the moment to save a moment that will never be again. I really don’t know clouds at all.
Well played, sir!
Thanks for this wonderfully thought out and worded essay. Some years ago, I stopped taking photos on my travels. This article was an epiphany: https://thenextweb.com/news/our-obsession-with-taking-photos-is-changing-how-we-remember-the-past. It appears that our memories are dependent on the extent to which our experiences are embedded in our selves and reinforced by being recalled. It appears that taking photos rather than immersing ourselves in the experience leads to poorer recall of the event. Reconstructing our past histories from these photographs might actually lead to distorted renderings.
That’s fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing. Might have to adopt a no photos policy myself. Feels a revolutionary act to do a thing without documenting now
I often make sketches of scenes I love rather than take a photo. Years later I can still look at the drawings in my notebooks and remember the scene, along with the feeling that inspired the drawing in the first place.
Maybe what we hope to hold onto with a photo--the energy and feeling of a place--is better captured in another form. Although it does take longer.....and we're all SO busy 😉
Amazing piece, you should write more like this one. (Not that I want you to do less with paintings and maps, of course!) Probably amazing to me because I just really connect with that feeling that somehow combines contempt and a kind of wonder at how much people live their experiences through selfies and seeing themselves in front of certain places, certain works of art. Rather than seeing the place, the art.
Many years ago, after a visit to Turkey (including Cappadocia), a person I was dating broke up with me, apparently based on what she thought was my "true" attitude towards her that was revealed during the trip. After asking for specifics, it basically boiled down to the fact that mid-trip I had become tired of taking pictures of her in front of various beautiful views or feats of architecture; if a picture had to be taken (rarely a necessity), I began refusing to take one if it had her or I in it. That's when she became disenchanted with me! After learning this, I felt pretty relieved that she was breaking up with me.
Yeah sounds like it was a good idea to part ways at that point. Freya India wrote a great piece recently called “Your boyfriend is not your cameraman” which laments this exact behaviour
Enjoyed this immensely