By Ellery Knight, Special to Nighthawk News

Wanting to capture photos of those pretty flowers, that gorgeous sunset, your friends on a late-night car ride, that sweater you want for your birthday, or that yummy food on your plate. Are you afraid you’re going to forget this moment, or are you too caught up in what others think?

People like to take pictures of things they want to remember, but over the years, cameras have been right at our fingertips, sitting in back pockets, ready to take one photo after another.

“We’re like screenagers,” sophomore Brooklyn Younts said.

Sometimes, though, being distracted by the process of capturing that perfect picture makes people more likely to miss the moment altogether.

“I definitely remember more if I’m not on my phone,” freshman Kenzie Brown said.

Taking lots of photos can even harm your ability to retain memories. Post-concert amnesia is a term for when you can’t recall the details of an event you went to and only have your videos and pictures to look back on and remember.

“I was definitely too overwhelmed and I didn’t remember. During the Taylor Swift concert, I did not remember anything that happened, but I have my videos to look back at,” Brown said.

It’s a balancing act for people, especially at major events: You are relying on your phone to keep the memory for you, instead of just remembering it yourself, knowing you can look back on it later.

“I watched these people watch the concert through their phone and it takes a conscious effort almost to put it down,” English teacher Hunter Anderson said.

When you make an effort to put away all of your technology, you can better remember the memories you are making. You might be too worried about forgetting the moment you are experiencing and think to yourself, “I need to remember every tiny detail,” but in reality you are going to forget anyway, whether it’s on your phone or not. 

“I feel I take too many sometimes: ‘Okay, I gotta put my phone away. I’ve got to just actually watch,’ ” freshman Sydney Whitehurst said.

But are you taking photos and videos for only yourself, or for other people? Out of all the Instagram pictures you take or the TikToks you post, are you hoping specific people will view it? Like it? Comment on it? 

“I feel people definitely influence what others take pictures of because they kind of want to be like them,” Brown said.

Anderson understands the appeal: “It’s just innate to want to show other people what you’re doing and show off or show them that, ‘Hey, I went to this cool thing.’ ”

Teenagers are known to be very big on social media, and for many, it has gotten to the point of where it’s just natural to care about what others think. They rely on the validation of how many likes or how many views they get. 

It’s important to remember that you shouldn’t rely on the satisfaction of others’ opinions. So just put your phone down, keep it in your back pocket and don’t worry about what others think. It’s important to live in the moment, and enjoy it – after all, you only live once.

“I think it’s important to make that effort to be in the moment,” Anderson said. “Watch the touchdown. Watch the live show. You know, maybe get a picture with your friends later.”

Freshman Ellery Knight wrote this story for her Intro to Publications semester project. She can be reached at [email protected].