What an old Johnny Depp fan can teach the Instagram generation

After the advent of digital technology, especially powerful smartphones with in-built cameras, people have developed a fascination for capturing every moment of relevance in a photo or a video, but often forget to enjoy the moment to its fullest.

Kids are born into this technology-dominated world where they play more with their parents' smartphones and tablets and less in the outdoors, merging with the nature, experiencing the touch of the green grass, the fragrance of the soil, or simply taking in fresh air.

In such an era, the photo of an elderly woman who chooses not to depend on any gadget to enjoy the moment becomes relevant. Taken by Globe photographer John Blanding during the premiere of Johnny Depp's latest, Black Mass, the photo is going viral on social media for all the right reasons.

The woman is seen leaning on to the barricade with a content smile on her face, enjoying the moment of catching a glimpse of possibly her favourite star without pulling her smartphone out and taking a picture like everybody else around her.

The knee-jerk reaction, lately, of everyone with a smartphone or a digital camera is to pull it out and start recording what is happening. This, unfortunately, is the same behaviour when it comes to natural calamities, an accident or an attack. The basic, (and normal) response to such situations of helping/fleeing has taken a back seat and is downright unjustified during emergencies.

We are so enslaved by technology and smartphones that we forget the beauty of enjoying life as it happens. We often talk about how to live in the present, how to make the most of an opportunity but confuse it with making it a memory for a lifetime. Another funny fact is that we all understand this behaviour of ours and that is exactly why this photograph shared by Wayne Dahlberg was retweeted more than 11,300 times and liked 13,178 times on Twitter at last count.

this is my new favorite photo of all time pic.twitter.com/v8Qs6TeXZf

— Wayne Dahlberg (@waynedahlberg) September 26, 2015

Being a photographer, I understand what it means to capture a moment, but there are times in my life when the photogrpaher in me tells the human being to enjoy the moment. I have also heard from a couple of photographer friends about instances in their lives where they saw something so magnificent that they chose to turn their cameras off and take it in, as a memory in their minds, not on their devices.

Futurist and performer philosophist Jason Silva, in one of his visually stunning and thought provoking video series called the Shots of Awe, talked about an "Instagram generation". We are the members of that generation "who want to experience the present as an anticipated memory", and he can't be more right. Here's the video

And as for this old woman, three cheers to her for setting an example, and showing us, the digital slaves, how to live to the fullest.