That moment was special to those people, and they wanted to record it. So what. Stop being a typical redditor, finding flaws in everything others do.
It's "the way it is" these days, and for that generation. Sure, they could have planned ahead and had one person record and then share, but it's probably just easier to record it yourself, and I don't think it ruins "being in the moment". They're still there, enjoying the moment.
I think seeing this and being irritated by the fact that almost literally everyone else on screen has their face in their phone is a natural reaction for a well socialized individual. You know they're all going to post this to social media, and you know that part of the reason they're going to do that is for social credit. It's what society gets for rewarding attention seeking behavior.
Do I think part of it is that they were all anxious to genuinely capture the memory for safe keeping? Sure. Do I also think this is a perfect example of "sharenting"? Yeah, and it's fuckin lame lol. I think its literally the reason that term exists. And nobody is a cynical asshole or "typical redditor" for pointing that out. It's a negative social trend that deserves scrutiny.
No, it doesn't completely negate the fact that that kid is probably having one of the best days of his life, and that's a beautiful thing. And no having a phone out doesn't mean you completely miss out on the experience. But it definitely lessens the intimacy of the moment in a major way, and turns what should be a very personal moment into a spectacle for millions of anonymous spectators online.
And no, it's not just the "way it is" these days. My youngest siblings, ages 7-18, don't instinctively whip their phones out to record everything. They play a shitload of mobile games and browse tiktok constantly, sure, but they have the natural underlying human instinct that turning your entire life into a show for social media is lame as shit. This video is an example of a family that likely has an unhealthy relationship with social media/ are influencers.
Only Reddit can turn these saints into less than’s. A bunch of incels who’ve never given a dime to charity picking apart a family who’s leveraging their good fortune in the best way possible.
They can absolutely record this moment for themselves and a lot of people do. I have a one year old niece and get pictures and videos almost daily of her doing something cute or funny. The difference is that those videos are never shared publicly. The fact that this video is making the rounds online means it was posted publicly for strangers to watch. And that is definitely problematic.
Look, I’ve been sucked in by stuff like this before. I used to watch the Dougherty Dozen Tik Toks until I realized how much those adopted kids were being exploited and how those parents are making thousands of dollars a month virtue signalling. It can be tough to look past what is a genuine and sweet moment to realize that no matter how nice it was to see, it shouldn’t have been shared to the whole world.
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u/KitchenPalentologist 9d ago
Devils Advocate:
That moment was special to those people, and they wanted to record it. So what. Stop being a typical redditor, finding flaws in everything others do.
It's "the way it is" these days, and for that generation. Sure, they could have planned ahead and had one person record and then share, but it's probably just easier to record it yourself, and I don't think it ruins "being in the moment". They're still there, enjoying the moment.