> mindless consumption
It's funny how rarely I see people describing their own actions in these terms, though. I mean, I'm sure it happens, but the dominant mode seems more like "my behavior is authentic, those other people are being fake".
I get annoyed by phonecam-mediated behavior in its extremes, for sure, but I sometimes wonder if I'm not being perceived that way when I'm doing things (sharing a concert photo with a friend who couldn't make it; trying to get just the right angle and exposure on some striking scene) that feel "authentic" inside my own head.
>It's funny how rarely I see people describing their own actions in these terms, though. I mean, I'm sure it happens, but the dominant mode seems more like "my behavior is authentic, those other people are being fake".
I have been guilty of mindless consumption myself.
I any case, it's the mode of consumption that makes it mindless, not the persons intent (or lack thereof).
Only people do the same on their spare time, for the whole duration of events, in the holidays, etc. Where there is no other pressing thing waiting for them like a flight, a job or a child. Besides all of those things could wait for 10 minutes.
As for non pressing things and "countless other distractions", that's the whole point of the author. They don't appreciate or cherish or stop to look at the things they visit, they just pass through to the next thing.
>I'm not sure I agree with the authors projection of possible motives of those they were observing. There is always danger in assuming you know what is going through someone else's mind.
Only we do know what's in most people's minds, it's mindless consumption of places and experiences, where they care more to post they've been there than of actually being there. Not to mention that the vast majority of those images (countless photos taken during a concert for example) nobody absolutely cares, not even the picture taking them will think about them twice.