As technology meets the ordinary person for the first time, it has a tendency to conjure many emotions from excitement and curiosity to skepticism and fear. The fear leads to some exaggerated claims and beliefs that when you hear them, may sound comical, but may have a deeper human understanding tied to them that our minds and words cannot always convey.
One exaggerated thought around technology that has made its rounds involved cameras was that a picture can steal one’s soul. This sentiment was heavily attributed to native Americans, though many had this gut feeling through the ages. When asked, many connected to the Native American culture highlight that the people weren’t afraid of the technology, they feared the power it represented. They argue that these people knew that giving others access to their image gave them the ability to control how they were seen. They were ahead of their time in that way of thinking. I don’t think many could have imagined the world we live in today where taking a picture, altering the image, and posting it for anyone and everyone to see.
Maybe the initial gut feeling was right, though. Maybe it is more than just giving up power in controlling your own narrative. Maybe it is, in a sense, giving up a piece of your very soul.
Photographs of people were once a luxury. They were not common, so people made an event out of a photograph. They dressed up, they postured their best, and they shared the photos with those close to them. A true freezing of time. Anyone who lived before the digital age and was separated from someone they loved for extended periods of time may be familiar with the realization that memories fade. The likeness of that person and their features dull in their mind and their face becomes more difficult to recall. Pictures solved that. It gave every mother a concrete memory of their children before they grew up, every lover a way to keep their sweetheart close, and every soldier a reminder of those they were fighting for.
As pictures became easier to take, develop, and manipulate, so did our use for them. Frequency increased, candid, unposed photos became common, and eventually we were able to curate the fine details to make our image and memories whatever we wanted them to be. We took control of the permanent images.
Once social media took hold, we shared these images in a curated fashion, hoping for appreciation in the form of likes and reach. We curated what we let the world see in hopes of gaining status through the eyes of others. Now we could flaunt things we didn’t have. We could brag about lavish vacations, perfect relationships, and even perfect bodies to conjure jealousy in others at what we have. Afterall, others being jealous of what you have is the ultimate compliment of acceptance.
As we start to take control of our image, we are naturally drawn to make ourselves the very best and be seen by as many people as possible. To be liked by as many people as possible. When doing this, we are bound to find that some things work better than others. Things like the perfect pose, perfect outfit, perfect scenery, more skin, more provocative, more perfect. We do and offer more and more to create the perfect image. We take thousands of pictures that we rarely if ever will look back on. Why? Because we know the memories aren’t real. They are curated bites put through filters and have no real meaning. They have no soul.
Furthermore, it robs you of experience. How many times have we come across something beautiful or amazing and insisted on viewing it through the lens of your camera. That sunset or a child’s first steps. These moments should have a chance to imprint on us and leave us in awe of the beauty in this world, but we opt to delegate the experience through a camera. Some things are once in a lifetime for a reason. The height of human experience could easily be summed up to it’s fleeting nature. If everything is immortal, then nothing is special.
All this is just what we inflict on ourselves. The internet takes even more. Once the image is uploaded it can be captured, further altered and used for any other purpose someone wants. Your image, that carefully curated image you put forward is no longer yours. You are not the person, hoping to find connection and admiration, you are simply a lifeless digital image. You are not inhuman to the person possessing your image. The one thing that you thought was yours, your very image, is now gone.
Yet we persist. Better cameras, better editing, more reach. A willing slave to satisfying the facade of public admiration. Maybe those early detractors were right. Maybe the cameras are stealing our souls. Maybe not. Maybe we are giving them away, piece by piece. Either way, we are contributing to a growing inhumanity. We are feeding the algorithms. We are trying to give it our best angle, but really what we are feeding it is our insecurities, anxieties, and unrealized desires. This diet is making such a machine the thing of nightmares, able to identify and exploit us in deep ways. Now, others can sell us what we have been asking for, the perfect outfit, the reach, the feeling of connection. What does it cost, just a little more feeding? Some intimate thoughts, some deeper fears, some more misery.
The cure? A little resistance and self confidence. Maybe a bit of reflection. We all know by now the negative effects of social media, but that is too broad. What are the behaviors that social media have normalized that are contributors to such undesirable outcomes. Breaking those down is the only way to shine some light on how technology is affecting you. It isn’t about seeing just the good it can do, it is being equally as creative to find the harmful effects on you as a human.
Mental health begins with being content with who you are, not how you want others to view you. Be genuine, be intentional, and be courageous enough to not need the attention of others. Be brave enough to put your true best self forward. I promise that if you bring that energy into a room of actual people, you will find what you are looking for.