Unlike the physical photograph, the new photos, framed in fancy apps editions, cannot be accessed or enjoyed unless mediated by technology.

Framed

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Taking pictures or having a picture taken used to be the first step of a memory recording process. Having the film revealed or processed, to finally have the right pictures printed and framed was a very exciting experience. Choosing the right frame was another part of the process. Each picture to be treasured and exhibited had to have the right frame. Some were very fancy and expensive. Others were simple and practical. They had to match the occasion, but also the decoration of the house, the right size, the right materials, and the right people in them.

Like everything else, this memory recording process changed. Physical photo frames were substituted by digital photo-frames. Now one frame fit them all. One could have any amount of pictures being displaced at chosen intervals in the same frame. I must admit I liked that innovation. It gave some life to the occasions. I was never able to get one myself, though. Shortly, this idea faded, like a bad picture.

Smart phones and social media outlets became the new thing. Now pictures, even if stored in a cloud and brought back to you as Facebook memories every so often, seem to be more ephemeral. They do not last long in the feeds or memories of those who are supposed to appreciate them.

Unlike the physical photograph, the new photos, framed in fancy apps editions, cannot be accessed or enjoyed unless mediated by technology. Without the devices, without electricity or internet, those memories are as fragile as our minds and the circumstances that framed the occasions.

Social and family relationships have been evolving along with pictures and the media that allows us to capture them. In some places, more than others, conditioned by political and economic stability, as well as to media pressure, relationships tend to be more elaborate, complex, maybe; but they are also more vulnerable and less enduring.

By embracing technology and waiving privacy, we have been offered paradise, but it seems to me that we have been framed.

Thanks for your reading

This was my entry to @mariannewest and @latino.romano’s 5 Minute Freewrite: Sunday Prompt: PICTURE FRAME. You can see the details here.

Make sure you visit the Freewrite House!!!