What? Instagram videos don’t reflect reality? – SCN Encourager 7/18/2013
Fantasy? (It’s overdone.) Reality? (Ho-hum.) What’s left?
Jenna Wortham is the tech writer for the NY Times.
Her recent article “Instagram Video and the Death of Fantasy” calls to question without totally dismissing Facebook creator Mark Zuckerman’s prediction that the creation of millions more micro-videos for sharing on social media is the “future of memory.”
This is good to know. I thought the “future of memory” involved me scribbling notes on tiny scraps throughout the day and then emptying out my pockets at night.
I appreciate Wortham’s perspective.
After writing about Instagram myself in Monday’s Encourager, it was wonderful to see that someone knowledgeable, tech-savvy, and good with words also chose this topic.
See. It’s All-Star Week for you, too. An article from the NY Times now in your inbox!
Wortham suggests that just because a video has been produced – and is speedy-kwik to view – doesn’t automatically make it worth remembering. (FYI. “Speedy-kwik” is my phrase, not Wortham’s. I inserted it to try and help this NYT writer explain things better…)
It’s also highly likely that the video is not even an honest portrayal of “what typically happens” as the creators desperately try to convey a “cool impression” of some kind.
Of course, I’m no expert on creating “cool impressions.” What father is? And this is good news because Wortham reminds us that we all operate within our own real-world, “behind-the-scenes” moments 99% of the time. This is why most of what’s in those micro-videos is fake.
When I read her article I was left thinking about this question.
IF the use of fantasy in short videos is a joke – and the alternate emphasis on our common life interactions is unexciting and uninspiring – WHAT’S LEFT?
And a form of this question asked to us school communicators could be: “what’s out there” that each one of us could creatively broadcast in a Vine, Facebook, or Instagram video that would make it worth remembering?
We’re fortunate to be who we are and where we are. We’re surrounded by the answer.
DREAMS.
Tom Page, SCN
