If Jesus were to appear, would you embrace the moment, or spend your time photographing and Tweeting it on your smart phone?
I recently documented my discomfort with “helicopter shutterbugs” — those hovering parents who photograph every moment of their kids’ lives. That sparked some smart feedback from friends and readers, who helped me synthesize key points that became my latest MediaPost column. Pardon the shameless quoting of myself:
Digital cameras in smart phones have prompted a new shutterbug addiction fueling three disturbing trends:
1. Sacrificing the moment. If you’re screwing around with a clumsy gadget, your senses and attention to the moment degrade. Research has shown that using a smartphone while driving is akin to driving while intoxicated. Logic would suggest the same goes for using a smartphone while engaging in any other activity.
2. Redefining the moment. Like the “helicopter shutterbugs” I described earlier, screwing around with a clumsy gadget while capturing the moment can completely alter the scene. It can create a spectacle and command attention away from the original focus. The observer becomes the observed.
3. Prioritizing capture and sharing over the moment. Are people deliberately prioritizing the capture of the moment over the moment itself? For many, the former is is becoming a bigger accomplishment, a greater pleasure, and a higher calling.
You can read the entire thing here.
In response to that piece, my friend Kaila Kobin in New Zealand pointed me to Louis C.K.’s hatred of Twitter.
If Jesus were to appear, would you embrace the moment, or spend your time photographing and Tweeting it on your smart phone?
(Photo: Courtesy of me.)