Last Saturday, I hiked up to the Hollywood sign with a group of friends. At the top, with the view of the sign as well as most of Los Angeles in sight, my friend Herman asked me, “What did people use to do at the top of hikes before cameras?” At first, I thought he asked what people did before camera-phones (probably since I have been thinking about the “selfie” so much due to this class). When I realized he just meant cameras in general, I said “just look, I guess…” Why don’t people do that anymore? Why are people not merely satisfied with just looking at the view in that moment? Instead most people feel the need to document it with taking a picture, especially with themselves in it.
This reminds me of the case study we read this week on the “infamous Auschwitz selfie.” I remember when social networking got all stirred up about it, but I kinda just turned away because even the thought of “selfie” and “concentration camp” is quite appalling. After reading the article about why the girl did it, my opinion has not really changed at all, although it does provide some insight why exactly people feel the need to take pictures, and now selfies, at famous monuments or at the top of a hike. Her intentions for the selfie were for self-documentation and as a remembrance for her father. As the writer of the article stated, these intentions do not authorize her actions as “okay.” Her selfie still, as the writer put it, minimizes what happened there into an inappropriate “personal narrative,” which reminds me of Elie Wiesel’s critique of Schindler’s List as kitsch.
When thinking back about the hike on Saturday and how nearly everyone was taking a picture of others or a selfie, I can see that it is a way of saying “I did it,” but why does that need to be shared in the “super public” that Danah Boyd coined? Why is there a need to celebrate when so many other people have accomplished the same fact? Obviously, it is more appropriate than taking a selfie at a concentration camp, but there remains a sense of minimizing in the act.
I completely agree with the you on this statement. We are no longer satisfied with being physically present or in the moment anymore and must document every experience for proof of a well-lived lifestyle. The whole point of being alive is to live, and if we are trapped in the bubble of our phones, we are not fully living out all that we can. The only way that this will stop is if others commit to putting their phones down. One person cannot change the course of social norms in a society, but if an entire group or community does, we can take small steps towards progress.
Everyone feels the need to document their lives these days and let everyone know what they’re doing via social media. I’m guilty of it! But what stuck me the most about your post is: why do we do it??? Why do I care if x, y, z see this picture? They probably don’t care. I think it has to do with making your life seem amazing. Everyone knows you went to Europe and did super cool cultured things! Everyone knows you went to the beach (while maybe your friends were in class!) It is just a form a vanity, I think. Social media/internet had made people slightly more vain (including me..not to judge anyone!)
I went hiking in Griffith Park a few weeks ago, and I was dumbfounded when I saw a new, giant sign at the front of the trail that said “FREE WIFI, Courtesy of AT&T.” My friends and I laughed at the absurdity of the whole thing–the fact that this cultural phenomenon of self documentation is so prevalent that phone companies are going out of their way to make sure wifi is available at these types of “outdoor adventure” places so people can take their selfies and upload it on the spot, geotag and all. Having this sign there not only exposes this new trend, but takes away from any sort of natural adventure or spontaneity these things used to bring. Like you said, it has become kitsch. And guess who still uploaded an Instagram post to commemorate the super totally unique and adventurous hike, despite their criticisms at the beginning? Me.
You’re guilty of it, I’m guilty of it, we’re all guilty of it.
I love the connection you made to kitsch and Schindler’s list. I’ve always thought of the selfie and this obsessive need for documentation to be pretty debasing, but I never really thought to relate the two. But since kitsch as an art form values/ critiques objectification done in bad taste, does this mean selfies might be considered an art form too?
I really enjoyed the insight here. It reminds me of how our generation has become robbed of the “in the moment” mentality of generations before us. We are so fortunate that we have the technology to document our entire lives in our pockets but we have definitely started abusing that affordance by taking our phones out at every opportunity.
Your post had me reminisce on my first trip to Asia. In high school I spent just under six months backpacking through Thailand and India. I went twice, in three month long epeiditions. During my first trip on what was probably the second week of my journey, I broke my camera. I was in the Thai jungle hiking and I accidentally slid down a pretty sleep muddy hill. I had used my arms to try to grab on to any trees while I was falling, camera in hand. While I was initially distraught and heartbroken, the idea of not being able to document my trip was plaguing my mind. However, as the days went by and weeks passed, I noticed something. On a daily basis I saw my classmates spend so much time and dedication to taking the perfect photos of the incredible sites through Asia that they had forgotten to see the view without looking through the lens of a camera. Just like you had mentioned in your posts about truly looking around and taking in the experience, my classmates had forgotten to do so. Now there were times when I felt envious that I couldn’t be taking the perfect shot but I knew in the back of my mind that my journey was being documented. Once at home I found myself in plenty of my friends photos and it made me appreciate even more the sites I had taken in. On this idea of the need to document everything, I challenge people to go on a hike or to visit a museum and not take camera. Immerse yourself and know that only you matter in that moment. I do like the notion of “I did it”, but in the end of the day that only benefits you.
I agree – I am still uncomfortable with the “Auschwitz selfie”. I definitely agree – even just the two words together are offensive. Even though we are talking about the possible break down of the meaning and validity of “selfie” in this class, the superficial action of taking a picture of yourself at a sensitive location just seems wrong. Even if her reasons meant not harm, to remember her father, there are other ways to remember. I don’t want to judge another person’s way of remembering – but objectively, there ARE other options. I guess pictures, in general, are a way of solidifying that memory. They are tangible souvenirs from that experience. Our memories are thwart with so many other things (i.e. aging, you might think of that memory differently over time, thereby altering it). Photos remember that moment by the “objective truth” – this is what actually happened.
I found this funny–because it is true, now a days everyone especially when they go on this hike take a picture. And for some it is to show their accomplishment and almost self validation that they in fact did hike this, and for others it is for the scenery.
I feel like the question of whether the photo to capture the moment can be used with being in the moment is a good thing, or whether pictures and photography is taking away from the here and now.