We hear it over and over again, that the use of social media is dominating peoples lives. More than ever before has Instagram been a tool to publicise and distribute images around und the world. Photographers can hardly do without and the goal is to become famous quickly. No doubt, the use of instant, worldwide display of one’s own work is faster than any e-mail campaign or a well executed mailing list...but it is forgotten quicker than it took to post an image. I speak from experience. I too have made use of Instagram and...did not become famous. I could blame it on the alogarithm, the way IG shows my images, or how IG crushes my jpeg files to size....or maybe because my images are crap.
Either way...Instagram success is like Monopoly Money...its not real. True success in photography is not ‘posted’ on Instagram, nor Facebook or Twitter. It is forged by consistently delivering quality over quantity. No surprise that the great images of our century usually stand alone for themselves. Imagine the empty stare of Don McCullin’s shellshocked marine in Vietnam, or the beautiful colours of Steve McCurry’s Afghan Girl. The depictions of reality were the result of consistency and commitment to a standard of quality which demanded professional skill. It took years to perfect this craft and was not just ‘snapped’ at the right time in the right place. So some may argue...that this was during a time before digital imaging was invented. Yes, that is true. But despite modern technology, you will not find Steve McCurry or Don McCullin shooting hundreds or thousand of images during an assignment. Anyway, all I am saying is that social media is not a solution. As convenient as it is and as well it connects people around the world...it demands our attention...committee to a tiny screen of a smartphone or tablet. As a matter of fact, one could actually argue, that it has driven society apart.
Again, I speak from own experience. Nobody talks at the bus stop anymore, or on the tube, or the airport. In restaurants during a meal out there is no communication between people anymore...less talking and interaction on a personal level. People just keep staring at a screen, trying to catch up with the latest post. Even worse, and I am also guilty of this, I get home from work and tend to do...nothing...! I sit on my fat backside and browse instagram and the internet. How about getting outdoors and catching some fresh air, or go and meet friends and family...talk, communicate, share experiences like our grandparents did. I dare to say, that society was happier before social media and will be after Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have gone.
So here are my New Year resolutions:
- Less social media,
- More Integration with actual people,
- More exercise,
- More real photography,
- More printing instead of posting.
I think that is plenty.
