As someone British I found this compelling and fascinating. And in Britain Kate's non-appearance has been headline news, with the conflict in Gaza coming a distant second, which is a hideous reflection of the news values of the society in which we now live. Sam has nailed it as ever!
Another great piece, Samuel. Thank you! Your definition of safety ("who is my child with?") and its distinction from what many of us parents understand as safety ("can I contact my child immediately?") was eye-opening and really instructive. As a parent, my wife and I allowed our kids to have phones once they entered middle school. What I've discovered is that another "digital rule of life" is that we parents should have instant confirmation of our child's status and whereabouts - something completely foreign to my parents when I was growing up, primarily because they had a general idea of who I was with.
For example, if the after-school bus is 10 minutes late, I need to know NOW where she is. If I don't hear from my child's school that they are running late, and I don't hear from them (that's why they have phones, right?), or if I don't hear from them through another child's phone (because all their friends have phones), or if I can't see where their phone pinged most recently on the Life 360 app that we share, then something is very wrong. I'm not saying that's good; it just is.
So in the case of the missing Princess, she not only needs to be recorded, but we also need to know about it ASAP.
Thanks for the analysis of this interesting phenomenon. The British Royals serve indeed as a good example of this as they do not necessarily need PR.
On a more personal level however, I want to offer a counter-argument that I would like to bring into the discussion. A little bit of context: I do not really use social media, the only thing that comes close to it are the WhatsApp stories that people sometimes post. Usually these are innocent family or vacation stories. I have several friends I rarely see, only a small fraction of them posts pictures every now and then (Germans are quite privacy-minded and less outgoing when it comes to sharing life).
I have to admit that these little glimpses into their life - however superficial they are - do make the person appear more tangible to me. If I have friends that I see only once a year or every few years, it is a bit hard to imagine how their life is going when I don't see their faces or their life circumstances in some visual form. I am not even a hugely visual person, I am a sucker of long-form articles, good books, I don't use Instagram etc. - but still I can't deny the power of the visual. I might be socialised this way through technology and society, but nonetheless visual records do have a certain power to carry memories, emotions etc.
Another practical example: We have a family group chat where the scattered family members post life updates, pictures of their kids, trips etc. Now if all I do is explain my life in words without ever posting a picture or video, my sisters and parents definitely relate and respond less. I can only imagine how more visually-minded people than me feel even less attracted and interested by mere text if even I feel a closer connection when some life updates and stories are accompanied by pictures or videos. If you are on vacation and only share some text, hardly anyone can imagine or relate what you've experienced.
So to answer your question in the headline: Of course they do exist, but most people nowadays struggle to imagine someone else's life without some sort of visual representation - whether that is dangerous or just “normal” is another question. The only thing I'd like to say on that is we as individuals need to work harder on relating to others through in-person meetings, calls and maybe even longer written communication that gives more context than a picture can do. While visuals are surely helpful as a supplement to interpersonal exchange, they shouldn't become the end goal as this often leads to a mere performance than real human-to-human exchange.
What are your thoughts on the role of visual documentation and sharing in the private sphere?
"A girl who doesn’t post sufficient content does not “exist” in the digital space."
You could remove "in the digital space" in this sentence. My observation of people who are stuck in this negative feedback loop lack the ability to distinguish between digital and non-digital existence. It's all one thing now. Instagram has reframed peoples entire worlds and engagement with reality.
As someone British I found this compelling and fascinating. And in Britain Kate's non-appearance has been headline news, with the conflict in Gaza coming a distant second, which is a hideous reflection of the news values of the society in which we now live. Sam has nailed it as ever!
Do I exist if Mr. James does not respond to my comment?
Another great piece, Samuel. Thank you! Your definition of safety ("who is my child with?") and its distinction from what many of us parents understand as safety ("can I contact my child immediately?") was eye-opening and really instructive. As a parent, my wife and I allowed our kids to have phones once they entered middle school. What I've discovered is that another "digital rule of life" is that we parents should have instant confirmation of our child's status and whereabouts - something completely foreign to my parents when I was growing up, primarily because they had a general idea of who I was with.
For example, if the after-school bus is 10 minutes late, I need to know NOW where she is. If I don't hear from my child's school that they are running late, and I don't hear from them (that's why they have phones, right?), or if I don't hear from them through another child's phone (because all their friends have phones), or if I can't see where their phone pinged most recently on the Life 360 app that we share, then something is very wrong. I'm not saying that's good; it just is.
So in the case of the missing Princess, she not only needs to be recorded, but we also need to know about it ASAP.
Thanks for the analysis of this interesting phenomenon. The British Royals serve indeed as a good example of this as they do not necessarily need PR.
On a more personal level however, I want to offer a counter-argument that I would like to bring into the discussion. A little bit of context: I do not really use social media, the only thing that comes close to it are the WhatsApp stories that people sometimes post. Usually these are innocent family or vacation stories. I have several friends I rarely see, only a small fraction of them posts pictures every now and then (Germans are quite privacy-minded and less outgoing when it comes to sharing life).
I have to admit that these little glimpses into their life - however superficial they are - do make the person appear more tangible to me. If I have friends that I see only once a year or every few years, it is a bit hard to imagine how their life is going when I don't see their faces or their life circumstances in some visual form. I am not even a hugely visual person, I am a sucker of long-form articles, good books, I don't use Instagram etc. - but still I can't deny the power of the visual. I might be socialised this way through technology and society, but nonetheless visual records do have a certain power to carry memories, emotions etc.
Another practical example: We have a family group chat where the scattered family members post life updates, pictures of their kids, trips etc. Now if all I do is explain my life in words without ever posting a picture or video, my sisters and parents definitely relate and respond less. I can only imagine how more visually-minded people than me feel even less attracted and interested by mere text if even I feel a closer connection when some life updates and stories are accompanied by pictures or videos. If you are on vacation and only share some text, hardly anyone can imagine or relate what you've experienced.
So to answer your question in the headline: Of course they do exist, but most people nowadays struggle to imagine someone else's life without some sort of visual representation - whether that is dangerous or just “normal” is another question. The only thing I'd like to say on that is we as individuals need to work harder on relating to others through in-person meetings, calls and maybe even longer written communication that gives more context than a picture can do. While visuals are surely helpful as a supplement to interpersonal exchange, they shouldn't become the end goal as this often leads to a mere performance than real human-to-human exchange.
What are your thoughts on the role of visual documentation and sharing in the private sphere?
Wait this post has been edited to fix a "typo"?? Something smells fishy...what are you trying to hide? :-) ;-)
"A girl who doesn’t post sufficient content does not “exist” in the digital space."
You could remove "in the digital space" in this sentence. My observation of people who are stuck in this negative feedback loop lack the ability to distinguish between digital and non-digital existence. It's all one thing now. Instagram has reframed peoples entire worlds and engagement with reality.
Samuel and friends -- check out my satire and commentary at SpoofsandProofs.com. Here's my latest:
https://spoofsandproofs.com/ancient-transgender-culture-mysteriously-disappeared-after-one-generation/