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Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

petapixel.com

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Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#61

Post by rofo1 »

> These are people so obsessed with their own sense of self-importance for the sake of a few instant “likes” on their social media profile that they find it perfectly acceptable to trespass, steal, disrespect the workers and their land – all in the name of “influencing”.

...

>They’d damaged the land. They’d stolen the owner’s products. They’d ruined the fields that had been tended to with hard work for months. But even the farmer’s final attempt to put and end to it wasn’t enough – they wanted more.

Oh, can't wait the day when we are going to look back at "social media" platforms and go: "what the hell were these creatures thinking?"

I really think social media is one of the worst tools for the human psyche ever conceived. It's a net loss for sure.

It's addictive and also messes up with dopamine generation. Not to mention the vanity/envy aspect of it: people comparing to selective representation of other people. It's remarkably insane when you think about it.

Maybe it's best not to think about it :)

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#62

Post by probably_wrong »

jwmoz wrote: post #42

Sums up everything I detest about photography and mainly typical instagrammers. You have the same problem where I am in Bali - idiot instagrammers using the farmers rice fields for their selfies, whilst the farmers are breaking their backs. I wonder how they'd feel if tables were turned - farmers all photographing young people on their laptops in cafes etc.

> I wonder how they'd feel if tables were turned - farmers all photographing young people on their laptops in cafes etc.

I wondered if we could get a contest running: for every "influencer" picture, see who can find the most unflattering backstage picture for that set. Maybe once people realized that behind each "young and carefree" photo there's a professional photographer, lights, a mobile wardrobe, a ladder, and hundreds of people doing the same, then the madness would stop.

But then I realised that I just re-invented the paparazzi. And if they haven't changed people's perception of Hollywood glamour, neither will this plan.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#63

Post by rofo1 »

pembrook wrote: post #55
jwmoz wrote: post #42

Sums up everything I detest about photography and mainly typical instagrammers. You have the same problem where I am in Bali - idiot instagrammers using the farmers rice fields for their selfies, whilst the farmers are breaking their backs. I wonder how they'd feel if tables were turned - farmers all photographing young people on their laptops in cafes etc.

On a recent trip to some more remote areas of Southeast Asia, I had this exact experience. Since westerners were a rare sight in many of the villages I visited, my friends and I found ourselves constantly being photographed, with the local teens and even older adults alike all posing in selfies with us in the background. I’d say we were photographed roughly 20-30 times per day, for the the month we were there. I’m no…

> Instagram isn’t the root cause to why people suck.

That's even more depressing (if true) than this abomination of "social networks" that we are seeing right now.

But still, even if your point might be true, we should stop giving people easy ways to be degenerates. There should be repercussions or something, but good luck codifying it into a law :)

It's a difficult problem.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#64

Post by rofo1 »

siphon22 wrote: post #26
CPLX wrote: post #12

I mean this type of photography is a style right? Like the more people do it the more cliched it will get and then it will go out of style right? Every generation wants to do something new.

We need to make it so cringe to behave like this that people will stop doing it naturally to distance themselves from those people . I already look down on people like this myself. People in the West do not utilize societal shaming enough I feel, so much focus on individuality that people are forced to tolerate that some people are terrible humans because otherwise they'll be on the side of NAZIS or whatever for want…

> People in the West do not utilize societal shaming enough I feel,

Critical point. Only when people start to think about this topic, they'll realize that shaming was invented for a reason, and a great reason: it works. It kept order into civilizations for millennia.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#66

Post by throwaway9d0291 »

tayo42 wrote: post #24

Ive been curious, without knowing how to prove it or not, If social media/instagram is really a significant contributor to over tourism? I guess I have a hard believing its not coincidental. People have always taken pictures around the world. But recently travel is becoming a lot cheaper, a lot safer, developing countries are developing so they are easier to get to, its easier to get to far corners of the world, chin…

I think it's social media combined with accessibility.

It used to be that you might find a nice secluded place because a family member or friend went there and told you about it or showed you by sending you a physical photo in the mail or showing you a photo album. The exposure might be counted in the tens. It would then be a substantial financial endeavour to go visit that place.

Today, all it takes is one "influencer" to find something new and within a week it's seen by tens of thousands to millions of people, many of whom can afford to visit it if they wish.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#67

Post by speedplane »

VvR-Ox wrote: post #60
speedplane wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am disgusted by these people. Absolutely revolted. I understand this is a subjective statement but something inside me recoils at these people, I understand how many can feel that way, but what if these photographers were genuinely interested in the underlying work. They did put in the effort to travel all the way to a farm to check it out. They took pictures of it in appreciation. Maybe they did not know how to…

That sounds like a lame excuse - sorry. Every child knows that you don't do whatever you want on the grounds of other people, in their gardens and homes. Stop being jerks and just ask people politely if it's ok for them that you take a picture. Also I don't get how they all need a picture of the same place. In the end all they do is to deprive themselves from real happiness and the possibility to just enjoy the momen…

> That sounds like a lame excuse

I didn't mean to excuse this behavior, what they are doing is certainly not good. My point is only that in their desire to photograph, there must be some level of appreciation for it, and it would be more productive to develop that appreciation than shut everything down.

As a simple example, the next farmer that gets instagram-mobbed, rather than putting up a "No Trespassing" sign, could instead put up a sign at the front of the property asking visitors to "come to the porch, say hello, and learn about farming". Many of the people who trekked all the way out to a farm to photograph it, will likely take the extra few minutes to get a deeper understanding. The farmer will maintain (or improve) her dignity, and maybe the instagramer will learn something new.

I'm just saying there are better potential solutions than mocking and distancing yourself from a group of people, you can bring yourself closer together.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#68

Post by mdpye »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #51
jwmoz wrote: post #42

Sums up everything I detest about photography and mainly typical instagrammers. You have the same problem where I am in Bali - idiot instagrammers using the farmers rice fields for their selfies, whilst the farmers are breaking their backs. I wonder how they'd feel if tables were turned - farmers all photographing young people on their laptops in cafes etc.

They probably wouldn't notice, but if they did they'd be unlikely to mind. If you go to China, Chinese tourists will want to take pictures of you (assuming you're white). And they really like taking pictures of white kids. It's kind of funny, but I've never seen anyone react by thinking the Chinese are all selfish jerks. That just wouldn't make sense.

There's a power imbalance there. You're on holiday, exercising your economic power and generally having a good time.

How would you feel if hoards of Chinese people came over to photograph you in your native environment, say, stuck in traffic on your commute, or late to drop your kids off at school, or while they're standing in your front garden while you're up a ladder trying to clear the guttering?

Perhaps you'd tire of that more quickly?

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#69

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

pembrook wrote: post #55
jwmoz wrote: post #42

Sums up everything I detest about photography and mainly typical instagrammers. You have the same problem where I am in Bali - idiot instagrammers using the farmers rice fields for their selfies, whilst the farmers are breaking their backs. I wonder how they'd feel if tables were turned - farmers all photographing young people on their laptops in cafes etc.

On a recent trip to some more remote areas of Southeast Asia, I had this exact experience. Since westerners were a rare sight in many of the villages I visited, my friends and I found ourselves constantly being photographed, with the local teens and even older adults alike all posing in selfies with us in the background. I’d say we were photographed roughly 20-30 times per day, for the the month we were there. I’m no…

Instagram, Facebook, and other social media act as behavioural feedback loops.

We're literally talking about behavioural modification here. FB + INSTA may not make people assholes, but they certainly reward certain classes of asshole behaviour.

They're not unique in that, but other asshole-promoting loop systems have been around far longer, so we tend to assume they're how things are rather than questioning them.

Which is why "This too shall pass" may not be a valid assumption.

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