Have you ever scrolled through pictures on your phone or camera, looking for one in particular, and felt surprised at the sheer quantity of photos you take each week? I go through this shock about once a month. Is it dismaying? Not usually. But definitely surprising!
We have become a society of documentation, and not just in photographs. In work, home, and financial life we find ourselves documenting everything. In my field of work, the saying was “if it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.” Anything important is written about or caught in a picture or video. Police have cameras on their bodies to catch everything they do. Homes have video to view anyone on the property. Families document every expenditure for taxes each year. Some people take selfies everywhere they go, documenting places visited, friends met, and food eaten. Parents often record every bit of their children’s growth over the years. Height, weight, first step, learning to swim, ride a bike, and talk. We. Record. Everything.
It has become so easy to pick up your phone, snap a pic or two, and resume playing with your baby or child. For me, it has become second nature; I forget I have even done it. This means some evenings when it is finally quiet, and our daughter has gone to bed, I get to look at some of the fun we’ve had lately.
This new age of documentation… you can hate it or embrace it. Find it a help or a hindrance. Or even feel indifferent about it. However you feel about it, we believe that this age of pictures is here to stay!