Living in a Picture Generation

March 23, 2023

We are a picture generation. Over half of Gen Z takes between 10-30 pictures every single day [1]. If you do the math, we’re looking at roughly 11,000 pictures a year. And of what? Having a photo of your morning coffee or a cool pair of sneakers a stranger is wearing can’t be that useful to your life, right? Yet our generation takes the picture anyway. It gets posted, then reposted, sent to friends, and the cycle begins again. As our camera roll grows and our phone storage fills, we’re left to wonder: What draws us to document every little moment of our lives?

That requires a little history. We are not the first people to be called the Picture Generation, after all. Between 1974-1984, a fledgling group of artists began searching for a form of expression that would tell the story of their generation [2]. They were born into a sea of images–overrun by the media culture of television, movies, magazines and popular music. They made art that was experimental, using mixed media and montage to craft pieces that served as a cultural analysis (think a high-end version of the magazine collages you made in elementary school art class). Their movement challenged traditional art forms, calling people to look twice, and find a deeper meaning in every photograph.

I believe we have more in common with these misfits than we know. Beneath this rebellious art form and the criticism of popular culture is a deep internal desire to be known. If they felt as though their lives were flooded with content, too oversaturated to be heard in, just imagine how they would’ve felt about the culture we live in today. We’re exposed to anywhere between 4,000-10,000 ads every day [3]. Art, music, writing and photography can all be created and distributed to a mass audience in the click of a button. Often, it feels like the only way to keep up is to participate. If we didn’t document every second of spring break, did spring break even happen? How will anyone know if we don’t have a picture to show for it?

I wouldn’t be the first to say that cell phones have been a major facilitator in this process. We’re hardly ever 5 feet from the nearest camera, only a click away from a photo that could sit in our camera roll for a lifetime if we let it. Tech companies have leaned into this desire for documentation, every new phone having more cameras, better cameras, until there’s essentially a DSLR attached to every model. It’s a reflex to take a picture as much as it is to doom-scroll on Instagram or post your Spotify wrapped (like, why wouldn’t you?).

But is there anything really wrong with this reflex? Not if you ask me. Having a convenient way to capture our lives is a privilege generations before us didn’t have. If we desire to be known, to be seen, we don’t need to look further than our pockets. While our culture is oversaturated with content, only we can own the little moments of our lives. Everyone may have a camera, but only you can capture your friends playing Spikeball on the lawn on a sunny afternoon, your perfect coffee shop study setup, the sunset through your dorm room window. No one else will ever view the world the same way you do; we each have a unique lens and a story to tell. Why shouldn’t we take advantage of that?

After all, college is a whirlwind. In between classes, extracurriculars, and interviews, there is so much to be captured. Culture tells us this is the best time of our life, fantastic yet fleeting. As much as there is an impulse to be known, there is an impulse to remember: to look back on the moments of our lives that would’ve been lost to time if not for a picture. While life moves pretty fast, when we take a picture, we don’t have to miss a second. There’s nothing wrong with giving into a little romanticism if you ask me.

Plus, there is something very special in the fact that when we go to tell our children stories from our college years one day, that there will be visual evidence to go with it. That the next generation will have a clearer picture of what it was like to live in 2023 than we ever have in times before. To me, that’s the beauty of photography in the first place. To tell stories that we otherwise couldn’t and fill the gaps where words fail.

So yes, we are a picture generation. Own that! Capture every moment that is special to you, use whatever method fits you best, and let others see the world through your lens. Or keep them locked in your camera roll forever; that one is up to you.

If you want to see some of the little moments your peers have captured, be sure to check out the Photo Expo running next week in the LaHaye Rotunda Lobby! If any photo really speaks to you, you can vote for it on the Student Activities Facebook page, or just take inspiration for yourself. I know I will be.

[1] https://news.booking.com/en-in/gen-z-and-social-media/

[2] https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pcgn/hd_pcgn.htm

[3] https://www.zippia.com/advice/advertising-statistics/