Is All Our Photo Taking Worthwhile?

New research sheds light on what’s working and what’s not. Smart phone cameras have turned many of us into de facto members of the paparazzi. Every event from the mundane to the glorious is shared in the moment or preserved for the future. But do our efforts pay off as intended? Whatever your motivation is for taking photos, it’s worthwhile to have a clear view of what’s working and what’s not. For example, recent studies offer conflicting and sometimes surprising results on how photo taking impacts our memory and quality of experience. One of the common complaints waged by those who dislike the boom in photo taking is that all the posing and capturing removes one from the moment. But does research back that up? Not according to Alixandra Barasch, PhD, an assistant professor of marketing at the New York University Stern School of Business and one of the leading researchers on the effects of photo taking and sharing. Barasch admits that she and fellow researchers were expecting to see that the photo taking process did indeed take people out of their environment, make them less immersed, and more distracted. However, after “dozens of studies,” they had to revise that theory. “We started to realize as we dug more into the literature that photo taking could predict both directions. On the one hand, yes, it’s a multi-task, but the literature also suggests that photo taking immerses you in the experience, causing you to focus more and that wins out, wh...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Anxiety Memory and Perception Motivation and Inspiration Self-Help Technology Active Listening Attention comparison Distraction Experience Mindfulness nonvisual memory Present Moment worry Source Type: news