Back
As I was scrolling through my social media feeds this summer, I couldn’t help but notice the number of remarkable photos that friends captured during their vacations this summer – photos of friends beaching, hiking, cliff-jumping, waterfall-chilling, snorkeling – all taken from magnificent heights and/or angles that just didn’t always seem humanly possible, unless Yao Ming had somehow been involved. That’s when I noticed another presence in some of these photos. A third arm, if you will. The selfie stick: sometimes discreet in photos, anything but discreet in person.
A New Angle on Outdoor Experiences
Technologies such as selfie sticks, GoPros and drones are changing the way we experience, document and share our outdoor experiences today. These technologies allow us capture some beautiful views and moments, if not somewhat obnoxiously, from new heights and depths.
In recent years, countless conversations have touched on the amount of screen time that kids today experience on a daily basis. A nationwide poll by The Nature Conservancy showed that the vast majority of kids in 2011 were using a computer, watching TV or playing video games on a daily basis, but only about 10 percent said they were spending time outdoors every day. Today, in 2015, 11.4 million Instagram users are ages 17 or younger. With kids having such a large presence on the photo- and video-sharing network, it’s doubtful that photo and video enhancement technologies such as these will lessen in popularity any time soon. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is just the beginning.
