Live in the Moment

I am a firm beliver in putting your phone away when you're with family or at a sporting event or on vacation, because there is simply no need for it. What ever happened to living in the moment and taking mental pictures? We live in a society were we take pictures just to post onto social media. We upload photos and videos to our Snapchat and Instagram for other people to like and comment. Before I continue I would like to point out that I have an Instagram and a Snapchat but have considered multiple times deleting, because I opened my eyes and realized the dent it was making on my life. The dent being that I became so obssesed with trying to find the right angle, people, and place to take one stupid picture that wasn't going to bring me or anyone joy. I started doing things for the pictures instead of for myself. I was too busy capturing the moment, that I forgot to live it. Now, I realize that it really doesn't matter. If someone happens to take a picutre, great. I might post that on my Instagram but stopping everything and everyone because I want a picture to post on my snapchat is not ok. People will argue that it's for themselves and their enjoyment but if that's really the case then you would save it on your camera roll or print them out. Pictures have become the thing that everyone depends on.  People don't care about the stories you have to tell or the interesting people you talked to or the places you've been. The first thing that my family and friends ask when I come back from vacation is "let me see the pictures you took". Why? Why do you care what the pictures look like? Pictures are untrustworthy. They are liars. Wouldn't you rather hear the stories I have to tell? Now, I understand that you need to show a picture or two of what the hotel looked like, or the sunset and the beach becoming one, but there is a point where it becomes excessive and a lot of people tend to pass it. "Needing to have reality confirmed and experience enhanced by photographs is an asthetic consumerism to which everyone is now addicted." This is my all time favorite quote in an essay written by Susan Sontag. That entire quote wraps up exactly how I feel about photography and cellphones nowadays. We need our entire life to be confirmed by our social media. I for one will not surrender to this inorganic cycle that has been added to our society. I will continue to put my phone away and enjoy the moment and let the fools take the pictures.