Istanbul put me off cameras for ever. It was hot, between 30 - 40 degrees. It was also heaving with people. Everyone seemed to have a camera and a selfie stick. Probably because the knock offs were so cheap. Result - you couldn't walk along the street or be inside a building without being in the way of someone taking a photo. It got to be hugely annoying. If you stopped politely for everyone you wouldn't see anything yourself & movement slowed to a crawl.
The problem I had with it is that no one was really looking. Everyone was so intent on having a photo with themselves as the star instead of the stunning building or view, that they were unable to experience the wonder that is this great city.
When did it all get so manic? When did everyone suddenly decide that their image fronting some iconic view was the most important thing? When did we all get so self absorbed? I suspect it is the conjunction of the selfie stick & Social Media. (Selfie sticks are very aptly named & a health hazard in my view!) We live in a self obsessed world where we all want our moment of fame & think that the rest of the population really wants to see what we are doing and where we are at this moment. I'm surprised no one posts photos of themselves on the loo. Or perhaps they do.
It's all so repetetive & totally mindless. Travellers who only see the world as a backdrop to their own existance. They don't really know much about where they are, the history, the culture, the geography. All they see is a photo opportunity and an opportunity to brag - "here I am".
Yes, I know I'm a grumpy old woman. "Frankly my dears I don't give a damn". I'd rather have memories any day & not be constrained by the narrow view of a camera lens. I didn't take a single photo. How often do we all even look at the photos once we have bored friends and family rigid with them? We just put them in a drawer or save them in the Cloud & move on to the next holiday, left with the problem of what to do with all those images & having forgotten what & where they are.
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