I am an over snapper. I always have my camera, and see many moments of my life as the picture frames they could be. I take so many pictures, and have no regret that I have all of those memories to look back on. I do wonder sometimes when it is too much. We live in a world of over capturing, and over sharing. People broadcast their images and lives on so many social platforms (myself included) that is borderline mind boggling. This is such a new phenomenon, that I don’t think we often take time to reflect on what it is actually doing to us as social beings.
Over drinks on my birthday, the topic came up, and hit home pretty hard. People are so eager to capture each moment on some sort of device, that I wonder if they are capturing it in their own memory bank. Are they committing the sights, sounds and emotion of this moment to be saved on their own hard drive? It makes me wonder if we are capturing more but actually loosing the opportunity to be in our own lives.
I don’t want to miss a single photo, but I also don’t want to miss my life. I still love taking photos, and will continue to snap away, but I am making a concentrated effort to leave the phone down and the camera off in more instances. I am really looking around, and letting the memories be etched. Not all moments can be captured. Some need to be enjoyed as is. I took some photos on my birthday, and a few short gopro videos, but mostly I decided to really enjoy the night. I will never forget certain moments, and I know for sure it is because I took the time to really attention to them. I will never have a picture of the wind blowing against my dress or the way he held my hand, but I will treasure those moments for the rest of my life.
The next time you need to take that picture, do so quickly, and put it away. Save the social updates for later. Be present and enjoy the moment that is being offered to you.
