Social Media Down the Road

Sometimes, I look through my pictures on Facebook and surprise myself, as I see pictures of me from years ago and think, "was that really me?"  Bear in mind these pictures are from 2006 at the earliest, which truly isn't that large of a time period. But still, it's amazing to see how I've changed over this small period of time.

I remember my mother showing me pictures from when she was a child, which was a much greater expanse of time. The photos were black and white, faded, and clearly tattered. And now I sit here today, thinking about how this will never be an issue for our generation. If Facebook, YouTube, and other social media websites stick around, we will be able to see our images in 2040 that we took in 2010. Looking at the long run of things, these websites are remarkable. The pictures will be in color; the pictures will have adequate quality (although we'll have to see what pictures look like in 2040 to really judge this); and they will even have age-old comments that your friends posted on them.

Imagine showing your own child a video that you took 50 years ago. They can see what it was like to be a teenager in this era and also see how similar they are to their parent. Social media is like a massive digital photo album.

So, even though you might notice differences in your appearance over a span of just five years, this will pale in comparison to seeing yourself after half a century. Hopefully I will remember this blog someday and read it while I'm laying in a nursing home, poking people on Facebook.