Is Society Too Content Driven to Enjoy The Moment?

Image Courtesy: Pinterest

Think about your top 10 memories. Was it a concert, a holiday spent with family, or a trip with friends? What were you doing during these core memories of your life? More likely than not, you could show someone almost the entire experience from the photos and videos on your phone. Even during important moments in our lives, we always have our phones on hand. Society is often more worried about getting signs of proof of these memories rather than simply enjoying the moment. Consistently having our phones on us has become second nature, and we don’t even realize how much it has impacted our lives. Those times we look back on as a kid when we played in the yard, didn’t have an iPhone or social media, and weren’t worried about what everyone else was doing, seems like a foreign stage of life. This is not to say that capturing your best moments is entirely negative, but when does it become only content-driven and not actually enjoying the moment?

Image Courtesy: Loudwire

What were people doing at concerts before they could film the entire show? It seems like, now, it’s a distant idea to be at a concert and just watch it. We no longer go to concerts just to enjoy the show, we film the show to rewatch later, to post on Instagram, and to show others we were there. There’s a fine line between taking content to savor the memory and taking content for the sole purpose of posting and notifying others, just so our followers are made aware that we had a specific experience. As we know, our social media is a highlight reel of our lives, and most work harder than they’d like to admit making this reel seem eventful. I think many people can relate to the feeling of guilt after a concert when contemplating if taking videos the entire time was worth it or not. We sometimes look back and say, “Would I have had a better time if I just put my phone away and enjoyed the show?” Was the Instagram post worth it after all?

Image Courtesy: Pinterest

When contemplating the effect of social media and our ability to live in the moment, the question of what “living in the moment” even means arises. To enjoy a moment for its own sake means having your full undivided attention in the present. You aren’t coming to get fresh content out of it, you are coming to experience something new, something without frames of judgment by others. When it feels like time has stopped, when you are just enjoying where you are, you know you’re living in the moment. There are no longer any preconceived notions blocking us from experiencing something only from our own lens. Suddenly, the thought of pulling out your phone seems insignificant, and your only thought is how you wish this moment would never end. Life will pass us by if we continue to let social media rob our ability to live in the present for the sake of our own happiness. We all know this almost euphoric feeling of truly embracing the now, so it’s time to chase these moments and create better top 10 memories.  

Strike Out,

Writer: Bella Ferretti

Editor: Blake N. Fiadino

Tallahassee