Twitterpated

There's been a negative shift in the way we interact, and a lot of it's due to MySpace (and all of its more popular friends).

Fear not, for I'll interrupt this anti-digital age gospel with an iconic Philly anecdote. I was on my college campus the other day, taking a photo of a beautiful sunset as it peered through two cacti. As I tried to get the perfect angle, a hooligan no less than 30 feet away hollered "Gonna post that on Instagram!?" It was like a question, but it wasn't. It wasn't funny because it was expected. It was expected because everyone hears type of remark all the time.

Jokes are funny when they surprise the audience (Which is why offensive humor is always on the rise). General humor, like the stuff you hear at supermarkets when the cash register malfunctions and the buyer says something snarky like "So, I guess I don't have to pay for it, right?"-- that's not funny. It's not unfunny because no one's in the mood. It's not funny because it's exactly what everyone there expects that person to say.

Anyway. So there I was, taking a picture of a captivating sunset because aside from being a philophile (lover of love) and a logophile (lover of words), I'm also a photophile (if there is such a word). I take pictures of random objects and shadows, I admire the way any monument looks as different light hits it throughout the day. So often (and I do mean very often), somebody will yell the exact same "Hey, putting that on Instagram!?" type of comment. I never acknowledge them. It doesn't offend me. But it saddens me in the grand scheme of things because before social media, we took photos for ourselves. And everyone understood that.

Do I post these photos online? Of course I do. We live in a day and age where if you try and disconnect yourself from the net, your social life might run a little slower (keyword: might). I recognize that I don't have to share my photos or even my blog. But it's a nice way to remind you and your little social circle that whatever you're working on is not going to perish in a house fire or a sinkhole (Speaking of which, don't live in Florida).

Let's just acknowledge the fact that you should be able to take a photo of anything you want without someone yelling "FaceBook!" or "Hashtag it on Twitter!" It's just redundant and provides no concept of individuality to the person saying it.

And yes, here's the photo I've been blathering about. Serene, it reminds me of the stereotypical American frontier.

Godspeed,

-Philip