Immortalised by way of a photograph, or recording to look back on. A snapshot in time that can be kept as it is, in stasis and forever as it was. I wonder how many have been haunted by their past self, even just in memory and not in a physical recreation, as we are led to believe, aging is a cross to bear. Many tales and stories are about chasing youth, or trying to evade what we are told is a natural process, while at the same time as being told it is a disease. So curable? Or inescapable? For a darker look at the fictional ideas we have surrounding immortals, my article More like us than we would like cover that.

Many are now being subjected to it on a strange and ongoing basis though, being forced to see your past image, or events by way of technology. Moments and memories captured in time, which seemed like a good idea at first, sort of. But when they get uploaded to the internet and can be copied, reproduced, shared, stored, bought up at any time, I realised it might do something else other than just invoke a pleasant memory. because as time went on, things change, people grow up, move on or pass away, as do our pets. If you chose one day to ‘take a trip down memory lane’ and look through photos or remember things, that seems fairly normal to me and part of either accepting change, or indulging nostalgia. Which in itself can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on where it takes your feelings. Many will know you may intend to just have a little think about something that was good, but it can turn itself into a sad thought out of nowhere, or meander into another and take a new tangent. So, with electronic reminders all the time, and the ability to skim back through what perhaps should be left behind, does this contribute to people getting stuck? Maybe with not being able to process change mentally and move on, because there is now a more physical way to sort of keep it ‘alive’ despite the reality of it not being there anymore? If that makes sense.

And I also wonder if having repeated exposure to memories and events is a good thing too. In the media world people are mostly agreed it is for programming and propaganda, to manipulate people’s views and ideals, to sway political outcomes and wants. But for the average person, what affect is it having on them to have their own life often replayed to them, by them and others. The ones who have grown up in the world of being able to record every moment, and now create your own TV shows with them. Even before the recent news stories of popular social media influencers seriously affecting and abusing their children, I had suspected that many who don’t even realise they are being affected will notice it down the line. The ones who are directly involved, and the ones watching and taking the advice of these ‘influencers’, whether they are what appears to be average people, or celebrities, it allows something crafted and scripted into your life, and often really isn’t what it seems. The drive for attention, views, likes and constant validation does appear to be a sickness once you are taken by it, and people will use whatever means necessary to get it thereafter. Vanity and ego I believe plays a starring role there, becoming so consumed by what you think you are, and then self-perception props it up for however long it is allowed to run its course. And technology is just an easy way to facilitate something that we already knew was a weakness for some, and for others a distraction or lure. Makes me think of that mirror of Erised in the HP series, where it showed you your greatest desire and people wasted their lives looking into the mirror…

(c) K Wicks