The Lost Generation

This world is a sphere of physical matter, created by God for us to live out our lives in his image and leave behind a legacy that will live on for generations to come. When we pass on from this life into the next, there are only physical traces of ourselves left for the world to see and experience. (For example: pictures, diaries, letters, newspaper clippings, etc.)

I love rummaging through old photos, reading someone's personal words and letters, and seeing accomplishments sprawled out in published documents. You have something physical to cling too. You use all your senses the way you were created to do so. 

The world has changed so much, and continues to grow in its knowledge of computers and science each day. Digital age and social media has made it easier than ever to share photos and personal experiences through the inter-web. Millions of sources of data and information is shared worldwide every second. The Internet is a man-made dimension that stores information of pretty much anything you can think of, a storage facility if you will..

This technology is wonderful and life changing in so many positive ways, but at the same time it is also creating a huge set-back for our generation. 

My father has been a professional photographer for over half his life. He started young, attained all necessary credentials and developed his own personal artistic style. He is a master at his craft, and I have witnessed many amazing images he has created for his clients over the years. I have also seen the impact a good portrait holds.

I honestly don't see my dad as the title of just photographer; I see him as a creator of memories. Long after we pass on, the portraits he has created live on. A photo of someone near and dear to you is a prized possession, priceless in value. You frame it, you see it and you feel.

I feel when someone simply posts a picture (or even a story) on social media for you to view, it is hard to feel an emotional connection through the artificial life of a computer that within a couple years will be outdated.. 

With how easy the Internet has made it to share with others, it seems more and more people want the "digital" memory over the "physical."

I want to put this in perspective for you.. Technology is wonderful when it works, but when something goes wrong where will that leave us? I have heard, and have even experienced myself, having digital files stored on one item and then something going wrong.. Then POOF! Gone! Just like that.. Your "file" has traveled on to an outer place not leaving you a single trace of existence.

I am not saying you shouldn't use the Internet and its tools to share your individualism. I am saying that you should make an effort to have a physical manifestation around you. Don't put all your trust in a unpredictable, ever-changing source that will probably not even exist in this form years from now.

I know some of you will say, well I have my "files" saved on several methods of backup. Hey, I do too. Better safe than sorry, right? Here is a thought though: that disc you have everything saved on will be compared to a floppy disc in a few years. External hard drives will be as valuable as a-tracks are today.. Good luck finding workable sources to read those.. 

The technical world gets outdated so fast! But the physical, human life: that lives on and simply adapts from year to year. We are the extraordinary machines, not the internet. 

My fear is that when our children's children look back in history, our generation will have no physical proof of existence.. We will be the lost generation.

We need to learn to adapt to the changes in the world without selfishly only thinking of the here and now. We need to think of the future and others. We still have a long way to go..

I just hope that when I pass on from this world that I leave the next generation behind physical evidence of life, and stir emotions within this ever-so-technical world.. 

Sometimes old school is not so bad..