Take a Picture, it Won’t Last Longer

About once a week, my best friend tells me she wishes she took more photos. For her, photos are a focal point in conversations about her day-to-day life — her new friends, things she did or her cat, Watson. 

It’s not just social status and conversation though. I often find myself glancing through my Photos app, staring longingly at various scenic hikes and people I haven’t seen in a while. Without photos, it seems like there’s no proof the moment actually happened, and my experiences are just a memory quickly fading into the background of a busy life. 

Around 70% of college students use social media daily. Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok have become engrained into the daily routine of teens and young adults across the country. Photo posts are used like a bargaining chip on social media, a way to up the ante on who has the most exciting life. They’re used as a placeholder in the figurative storage cabinet of your brain, freeing up space for more important information.

For many Loyola students, photos were important for roommate selection too. Instagram is often used to let incoming freshmen create the perfect image for roommate-finding accounts and meet the class posts.

Especially now, with the lake frozen over and snow falling in glimmering flakes on campus, many students — especially those from warmer climates for whom snow and ice are still a novelty — are falling victim to the incessant urge to document every aspect of life at Loyola. 

It’s simply not natural.

When one stops to take a photo, they’re no longer participating in the moment they’re trying so desperately to capture. For instance, modern-day concert venues are riddled with excited listeners who feel the need to video every hit song played. Oftentimes, the glow of a dark music venue is punctuated by pinpricks of lights coming from cameras and videographers everywhere.

Issues like this have gotten bad enough that some artists have banned phones, forcing concertgoers to remain in the moment and truly connect with the music. 

Outside social media, pictures are constantly taken in an effort to supplement memory. 

Daily, photos are used as a replacement for taking notes in class. By simply snapping a picture, you’re cutting out any of the actual processing and encoding it takes to commit something to memory, unlike written notes. 

Beyond the lack of encoding photography does in memory, it’s also causing self-esteem and image issues nationwide. As much as 46% of teens report social media has caused body image issues. It’s no question why the influx of photos of people who may seem more attractive, healthier or skinnier is causing teens and young adults to struggle with their own image. It’s also often artificial. Filters, and now AI, can make skin look flawless, hair fuller and bodies more toned.

Photography isn’t all terrible though. There’s a reason why it’s such a popular form of art. 

Like my friend, many people take photos as keepsakes, to remind them of certain people or experiences. For people with memory issues, photos can serve as a visual reminder of things they’ve done. But, for those who don’t have memory issues, it’s nothing more than a crutch. 

Of course, smartphones are capable of not just snapshots but photos as an art form, especially with the various settings and multiple lenses the newer models have. Photos, when calculated and taken in a caring and meticulous form, can be just as beautiful as any painting.

Nevertheless, after realizing taking photos can effectively take me out of the moment, it was easier to connect with my surroundings. On hikes, I tuck my phone into my back pocket and promptly forget about it. Whether it be the Blue Ridge Mountains or the Lakefront Trail, photos aren’t necessary in the process of enjoying a breathtaking view.

Memories can still be just as vibrant without visual proof of being there, and I’d like to think taking it in — really taking it in, rather than trying to find the best angle and already thinking about the likes and comments I may get on Instagram, will cement this memory in my mind even better.

Sometimes, the most impactful and moving experiences are the ones where we aren’t focused on perception, bragging or attention.

Truly photographic moments deserve to be remembered and internalized, not placed to rot in the memories section of a photo app. In a world full of new technology advancements and pictures everywhere, it’s vital to detach from all the visual noise and live truthfully.