Did it happen if we didn’t record it?

You are standing in front of a place you have traveled hundreds, maybe thousands, of miles to see. You pause for a moment and take in your surroundings, then almost instinctively reach for your phone. You take a few pictures or record a short video and send one to your friends or family. Later, one of these pieces of content might make its way onto your Instagram story or—if you’re lucky—into a post. This instinct is not limited to once-in-a-lifetime trips but also extends to the smaller moments that make up our everyday lives. Our phones come out when a sunset catches our attention, when fireworks light up the sky, when our food arrives at a restaurant or after a big play at a sporting event. Taking photos has become part of how we experience and remember these moments that we might otherwise forget. A picture from a family vacation can bring back details years later. A random photo with friends can remind us of entire periods of our lives.

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