image credit: smcgee [Flickr]
Five minutes after my daughter was born, I was running around the delivery room to grab my Canon 40D and iPhone to take pictures. A minute later, I was uploading my iPhone 3G photos to Facebook. Within five minutes, I had shared this moment - these near term "memories" - with over 600 Facebook friends, but that wasn't enough. I needed to use my Flip to take some video, which I'd upload to Flickr for my mom and dad, who live in California.
As my wife and I wheeled towards to maternity ward, I felt an impulse to capture all of these moments and reach out to my friends via email and Facebook -- not to brag, but just to share in the thrill of it all.
When I settled down to sleep that night, I took stock of my incredible day, without question the best of my life, but I wondered to myself: to what degree did I live the day to the fullest versus trying to capture it via a viewfinder? I remembered two months earlier attending my second cousin's 1st birthday. It too was a joyous, great event, but I smiled to myself as I saw all the parents scrambling to capture the perfect shots, for a single photo might have missed something. At the time, I thought they had "missed" something - the event itself and perhaps participating in it in real time, choosing to use the latest technology to be able to appreciate it later.
It could just be me believing that with my unswerving faith in progress and technology - with the endless possibility of capturing (photo, video, text, image, etc.) and sharing (via blog, Tweet, Facebook status update) - that I am capturing and sharing more than I am living and enjoying the moment.
As I watched the recent Paul McCartney DVD of his performances at CitiField, with the audience aglow in digital cameras, it became somewhat clear that I'm not alone.
Consequently, I think I'm going to start trying to "carpe diem" instead of "capture diem"... that is right after I post this blog post, so everyone can know what I'm thinking.
Jonathan Cohen
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digital culture, media morphing
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Strategists & Planners
Comments (6)
"It is not that we have a short time to live, but we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were well invested... we are not given a short life but we make it short.” SENECA
Mr. Cohen, You are right in your thoughts and reflections. We must be careful, because all digital technology can not replace a single second of life.
Posted on December 23, 2009 09:12
I remember one time at a concert, the lead singer went on a little rant about people in the audience recording the show with cell phones and cameras instead of just watching and being there in the moment. Really made me think.
These days, I usually record a song or two because it's fun to have something tangible to share and look back on, but I mostly try to just enjoy the experience.
Posted on December 23, 2009 19:14
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
Tyler-Funny thing. I was once at a jazz concert (Freddie Redd plays "The Connection", a cool Blue Note album), seated in the second row. I was snapping photos, not using a flash, and the woman behind me said she found it distracting. For a tenth of a second, I was upset: why couldn't I take a photograph?
Then, I thought: she's right. It was the digital equivalent of asking the lady in front of you to take off her hat. I was embarrassed and remember putting the camera away and just enjoying the show. Being present. Not feeling the need to be the historian.
How liberating!
-Jonathan
Posted on December 24, 2009 08:29
Sounds like its time for a new business to burst onto the scene...that of the personal paparazzi...no longer the gimmick I see some enterprising people doing today where you pretend you are a celebrity, but real bona fide "life moment trackers"...or "personal digital historians" dedicated to preserving your most precious moments. (okay, time to get back to the office eggnog) Cheers.
Posted on December 24, 2009 08:59
just wondering if perhaps the newborn would have wished for more privacy with regards to the first moments of their entry into the world...Life so vulnerable the first few minutes and hours.
wonder how they might feel later in life knowing that they were so exposed at such a delicate time.
Posted on December 28, 2009 18:59
Ann,
I thought about that point as well. I think you bring up an important issue.
Thank you,
Jonathan
Posted on December 29, 2009 06:44