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Comment by qwsxyh | Hacker News Reader

> Let's hope the future learns people that most of these instagram shots are basically digital waste.

That's very condescending of you. Lots of people like having real visual memories of places they've been.

I like having visual memories too. But are my memories triggered by a self-made almost identical photo of a specific glacier or tree at a touristic attraction?

In the last couple of years I've not taken photographs of things from which I was sure already tens of thousands of photos exist.

In my opinion people forget the importance of the experience itself. It seems as if there must always be some form of evidence to show others that you've been to some place. Preferably while you are still there.

I just returned from a short vacation with my kids and I took a bunch of photos. Every one has somebody from my family in it, often doing something goofy. Yesterday, while waiting at the dentist office I was flipping through them and it was wonderful.

The memory trigger wouldn't be as strong with a stock photo.

In my experience, my own picture does trigger a different response than a basically identical photo from somebody else. I have a wall dedicated to pictures of my various hiking trips, and replacing them with professional photos doesn't have the same effect. I've tried.

I also don't think taking a picture and being present in the moment are mutually exclusive at all. It takes five seconds for me to snap a quick photo. It's really not that big of a deal.

What if I told you that taking a picture is itself an experience? Especially if you're a little bit careful about composition; you have to move around and determine how best to position the camera, what time of day to get the light you want, which glass configured in what way, etc.

Some of my clearest memories of places I've been are of places I took photos, for exactly this reason.

This is silly and pure conjecture. That's my opinion. I love taking photos and I love seeing my friends photos of the things they experience. Not some photo from the tens of thousands of photos that exist. People can do two things at once. Take a photo and enjoy the experience.

As already linked: https://xkcd.com/1314/

There was a paper a little while back saying that if you took a photo of something you remember it less well. This was troubling to me as the designated photographer in my family, but not particularly surprising. Definitely made me consider sometimes to leave the camera in the backpack and just soak in the moment.

definitely this. When looking for a good photo, you look basically with one eye and with a set frame, deliberately turning off the 3D immersive experience. I've learned this trick after countless very bad images of very beautiful things, but it's equally important to be able to turn off this mode and enjoy the full experience.

This is a good point. I often forget I've even been to a place until I look at a map of picture locations, then zoom in and remember that time. I'm not sure I'd put much stock in photos of a place leading to its destruction until there is real evidence. My friend telling me about his visit to Scotland did a lot more to make me want to visit than his pictures.

Which is irrelevant, as they can have them without posting them, as it's something for others to marvel to.

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