The Modern Paparazzi

Recently on one of my favourite sites, Mamamia, there was a post on Photo Nazis.Or snapaholics, if you will.

You know the ones, who at every outing must document every single moment, from the ice-cream they ate to the movie they saw to the paint drying on the wall. And it doesn’t just have to be by photo. It can be by a status update or a check in.

You’re familiar with these people right? Perhaps you’re one of them yourself.

I’m torn on this, you see.

On the one hand, I can’t stand people must constantly tag themselves at the gym, or the movies, or their bed at home. I simply don’t see the need for endless documenting on pointless occasions, other than these people want to show off a little.

BUT – and that’s a big but – I am also kind of thankful for Photo Nazis, and here’s why.

I have a terrible short term memory. I can remember what colour top I was wearing at my fifth birthday, but I cannot for the life of me remember what I did last week, or a month ago, or this year. What have I been doing? A quick check of Facebook is all I need, where my Photo Nazis have been furiously snapping away, at various events from weddings to dinners to lunches at KFC. It means I can look back and go “ah – that’s what I was doing last weekend.”

From that timeline I suppose I can piece together moments of my life. Whether they are significant moments, is another matter.

My only issue is that I want to make sure people are living in the moment rather than missing out because they’re too busy documenting it and making sure they look cool and interesting on Facebook.

I sometimes look fondly back on photos of my grandparents when they were my age; only taken on very special occasions and now locked in precious gold frames rather than a disc or on a social media site.

I doubt I’ll keep the photos of me eating lunch or seeing a movie. But the ones I do have, of very special occasions, I will keep forever and am thankful for.