Cameras, Cameras Everywhere…

January 28 2009, 7:49pm

Farhad Manjoo takes up the issue of our overcamera-ed culture, mentioning the Obama Youth Ball and this anecdote: “Win Butler, the lead singer of the band Arcade Fire, once told Terry Gross that he and his band mates have stopped going out into the crowd to perform because nobody pays attention to them—everyone’s got their cell phones and cameras in front of their faces.” I found the link from An Xiao, who adds, “I have a hunch that any technology that is quickly assumed into the daily habits of the general population taps into a basic trait of humanity. I’m starting to think that maybe the need to photograph our lives taps into that same need to draw on cave walls and to tell stories around campfires. “