Wonderful piece. As a photographer, I rarely photograph myself. And yet I use photos of myself taken by others to help spread ideas - often with the use of a meme. It’s a struggle: part of my ideas generate from the “me” that is sharing them, so my visage can be helpful in catching attention without making it “about” me. And yet the algorithms that drive much of our opportunities to share ideas technically “respond better” if our faces are incorporated into a post - rather than a beautiful landscape or physical object.
It’s unfortunate: the difference between a selfie-centric mindset and being “present” in a moment or space is creating a layer of “thinness” in experiencing the world that I fear young people may not realize until much later in life, when they really don’t recall being “in a place” when they visited it. And have lost the moment to enjoy it - or learn from it.
Thanks for sharing these reflections. Very thought provoking.
Wonderful piece. As a photographer, I rarely photograph myself. And yet I use photos of myself taken by others to help spread ideas - often with the use of a meme. It’s a struggle: part of my ideas generate from the “me” that is sharing them, so my visage can be helpful in catching attention without making it “about” me. And yet the algorithms that drive much of our opportunities to share ideas technically “respond better” if our faces are incorporated into a post - rather than a beautiful landscape or physical object.
It’s unfortunate: the difference between a selfie-centric mindset and being “present” in a moment or space is creating a layer of “thinness” in experiencing the world that I fear young people may not realize until much later in life, when they really don’t recall being “in a place” when they visited it. And have lost the moment to enjoy it - or learn from it.
Thanks for sharing these reflections. Very thought provoking.