Your Photos Aren’t Meant to Live on Your Phone

Day 26 of 30 days of writing every day and I can’t help but publish another from my writing vault.

2023 was a very introspective year for me.

Take time to think back to your favorite birthday party as a child. When you imagine that party in your head, what do you visualize?

My bet is what you remember most is also represented in a photo you found in your mom’s tattered, falling apart album, collected during a school project.

As we grow older and our brains become flooded with new memories (…fears, stress, work, friends, trauma), the old ones become less memorable. The longer time moves on (and as the more “important” take the front seat), the details fall off, one by one without us even noticing, and soon enough what we remember most about a moment is the visual representation we have of it.

It’s the moments during a move or the passing of a loved one where we bring out the photo albums that we really feel the value of tangible images.

What if you didn’t have those images?

What if your identity was being questioned (even by yourself) you have no photos to remind you where you’ve been, with who, and why?

You’d likely start filling in the memory gaps with hearsay or assumptions, which can be extremely dangerous depending on where you’re getting your info.

In 2023 it’s pretty common to store your images digitally. The digital world has helped us organize our lives, send and receive information quickly, and communicate to build relationships. However, it’s doomed how we will reminisce on our lives in the future.

It’s destroyed how our children will learn about their lives in retrospect.

I currently have over 10k images on my phone and that doesn’t include the thousands I have dropped somewhere on the internet (Facebook, instagram, email, blogs, MYSPACE 🤣). Most of those photos could probably be deleted — no one needs 482910 photos of their dog, food, or landscape — but we all know that’s not happening (I’ve tried).

I’ve sat on a 4 hour plane ride and sifted through, organized, and moved photos upon photos upon photos…. And I still have 10k that I never sit down and look at.

The truth is, you don’t and won’t look back on your memories every day but the one day you do, you’ll wish it was because you stumbled upon an album during a move and not because you are searching 17 people’s devices (that have been shoved in a drawer somewhere, or that is stuck on a phone that no longer boots up) to find a few photos of representation before someone’s funeral.

Tangible images are crucial. They are what help our future generation of friends, family, and children understand who THEY are and remember who YOU were. Photos are what help children and adults see and visualize who they were before this point. They help the elderly feel a moment of joy as they hold their forgotten memories of events, people, and themselves in their hands.

Tangible photos allow a close up, intimate memory during times where life has muted those fine details of discovery. When I review a memory through a print, I don’t just remember the moment — I’m able to look further into the details. Holding it allows me to observe — Who was around? What did my environment look like? What did I wear? Holding a memory in your hand allows you to answer questions no one else can.

Are you leaving a paper trail?

Are you shutting off your future ability to remember the most special times in your life?

Are you making it hard for others to remember you and their experiences with you when you’re gone? Digital images aren’t enough. Digital images are hard to collect in a pinch. Digital images are easier for manipulative family or friends to keep from you.

Print at least one photo from each month over the last year. You’ll thank me later.