>I’ll open up the voice memos app on my iPhone, hit record, and let it just sit there. It doesn’t go entirely unnoticed; any notification or buzz will illuminate the homescreen to show white soundwaves under a red “recording” bar. But he’s aware of what the phone is doing, and he doesn’t seem to mind.
It's interesting that you think that. I think many people would agree, and yet...
When we take a photo of somebody, we're instantly recording a number of decisions they made that day. In a certain sense a photo is a record both of the time the subject spent in grooming and selecting clothing and also every activity that individual has participated in since then which might muss hair or clothing.
By recording a person's image a photographer also records their recent diet and fitness level, their emotions, their posture and current action. It's a massive amount of data.
All these very personal things are recorded too fast for the subject to do anything about them. They're already dressed, already groomed, they already ate a donut every morning for the past five years. Some people hate photographs for this reason. It pins a person to the wall and forces them to see themself from outside.
By contrast, recording a voice -- assuming the subject is aware of the device -- puts the content of the memory completely in the hands of the subject.
From the moment a person knows that an audio record is being made only aspects of that person which will be fixed for posterity are sounds the person chooses to make. There is utter freedom in this. It even takes a significant amount of time for the recording to get anything usable.
One can hide from a microphone by remaining silent. There's no practical way to hide from a camera except to flee, and even then the photographer will have pictures of one running away.
Isn't it a little weird, then, that it's socially acceptable to take a picture of anybody you know at just about any time? Not undressed, of course, not in any intimate setting, but out in the world the most we're required to say is "aw, come on, smile, I'm taking a picture".
When was the last time you asked somebody close to you for permission to take a picture? How often have people asked you instead of taking out a camera and giving you instructions on posing?
Certainly, almost no parent thinks to ask a child if they mind the parent taking a picture or a video.
I kinda think this might be one of the healthiest ways to record your child's thoughts in times of developing identity.
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[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 23.2 ms ] threadUhhhh...this does not seem healthy whatsoever.
When we take a photo of somebody, we're instantly recording a number of decisions they made that day. In a certain sense a photo is a record both of the time the subject spent in grooming and selecting clothing and also every activity that individual has participated in since then which might muss hair or clothing.
By recording a person's image a photographer also records their recent diet and fitness level, their emotions, their posture and current action. It's a massive amount of data.
All these very personal things are recorded too fast for the subject to do anything about them. They're already dressed, already groomed, they already ate a donut every morning for the past five years. Some people hate photographs for this reason. It pins a person to the wall and forces them to see themself from outside.
By contrast, recording a voice -- assuming the subject is aware of the device -- puts the content of the memory completely in the hands of the subject.
From the moment a person knows that an audio record is being made only aspects of that person which will be fixed for posterity are sounds the person chooses to make. There is utter freedom in this. It even takes a significant amount of time for the recording to get anything usable.
One can hide from a microphone by remaining silent. There's no practical way to hide from a camera except to flee, and even then the photographer will have pictures of one running away.
Isn't it a little weird, then, that it's socially acceptable to take a picture of anybody you know at just about any time? Not undressed, of course, not in any intimate setting, but out in the world the most we're required to say is "aw, come on, smile, I'm taking a picture".
When was the last time you asked somebody close to you for permission to take a picture? How often have people asked you instead of taking out a camera and giving you instructions on posing?
Certainly, almost no parent thinks to ask a child if they mind the parent taking a picture or a video.
I kinda think this might be one of the healthiest ways to record your child's thoughts in times of developing identity.