Cut the Cameras
Why taking pictures isn’t everything.
by RACHEL MUSMAN ★ JULY 18, 2022
You know those moments that stick with you forever? The amazing views, the smiles on your face, the warm fuzzy feeling in your heart? These moments might feel picture-perfect, but sometimes taking pics can snap away the perfection of a good day.
We wake up in the morning, we check Instagram. We need to fill time in the afternoon, we check TikTok. We’re bored at night, we send our daily snaps. Our world exists in our phones. Our days are ruled by a special name popping up in our notifications, who posted what on Insta, our FYP’s showing us the newest content specifically designed to our likings.
It makes sense our instinct is to want to capture these pictures to post. If we are all being honest, who doesn’t want to have a sick Instagram feed to make ourselves feel cool and show we keep up with trends? Come on. We all stalk ourselves occasionally to see how we’re *perceived.* But I think the best trend should be doing the exact opposite: not taking pictures.
Living in the moment is already hard enough. Thoughts racing through our brains consume us. You can physically be somewhere, but mentally somewhere else. So why add another variable of taking pictures? You're not walking on the beach so your 57 followers on TikTok can see it and be jealous of you. You're walking on the beach to feel the warmth of the sand intertwined in your toes, the giggles shared, the view of the water instantly releasing any tension in your shoulders.
Spending the entire time while doing an activity or visiting somewhere new focused on what pictures to take truly takes away from the beauty of the memory being created. We all know what it's like to spend time with a friend who rarely takes their perfectly highlighted nose out of their phone: not fun. Not taking pictures, or at least going out of your way to take more than a couple of unstaged photos, is another variable that can diminish any moment. So let's try everything in our power to not be that friend.
But let's be honest. Not every experience is as picture-perfect as it may seem in a singular snapshot. One seemingly “perfect” Instagram post doesn’t take away from the aches you feel because you have a cold, the wailing baby sitting at the table over from you, or the fact that you cried off your mascara just an hour before. Instead of giving in to the urge to pretend like your life is perfect, resist it. Fight it. Do everything in your power to just be.
Now, how can we really go about this?
Stop pretending like everything you do is ~aesthetic.~
Get your head out of your screen and stay present.
If you do take pictures, have them be natural. No fake setups, no extra long photoshoots.
When you are getting dressed, dress for how you will feel your best. Not for how many likes you will get for it.
Do things for the experience, not for Instagram. Because nothing is as it seems online.
But hey, we all do it. We all succumb to the weight of social pressures and superficial desires. So don’t beat yourself up when you frolic in a flower field for the sole purpose of a sick pic… just consider whether you’re living for yourself or for others.
Cover Photo Credit: Pinterest