Most Sunday mornings I wake up, resenting the thought of homework. To procrastinate, I usually resort to my phone. While slouched on my bed, scrolling through Instagram and swiping through Snapchat, my screen becomes illuminated with photos and videos documenting the festivities of the previous Saturday night. 

These days, it’s become popular amongst teenagers to attend cleverly themed parties and post the shenanigans of their weekend fun. It seems that teens have become more concerned with selecting the best outfit for future photo-ops than actually enjoying themselves at such social events. 

Last June, I went to the quintessential high school party: prom. I left Parker immediately after Class Day to prep for not one but two pre-parties where the main source of entertainment was taking pictures. I stood in the abnormally cold spring weather for an hour with aching feet to take God-knows-how-many photographs. And yes, I did post some of them afterward. But you better believe I never took the time to scroll through the hundreds of pictures in the shared Google Drive from the pre-party.

What ever happened to the classic living room picture with your prom date? Why do we spend an exorbitant amount of time and energy (and money, in the case of school dances) to take pictures, many of which we never look at again?

The meaning of a photograph seems to have changed. These days, a picture isn’t meant to simply bring personal joy or document an important moment, but acts as a means to brag, whether we want to admit it or not. With the help of social media, pictures have become electronic proof of our high school social palette—what we’re doing and who we know.  

There is a strange unspoken pressure to post from parties to prove to your social media following that you were, in fact, there, even though everybody at the actual event knows you were in attendance.

On top of boasting, taking pictures has turned into a substitution of the awkwardness of socializing. We have planned “photoshoots” because posing for a picture with somebody is so much easier than trying to get to know them, or, at the very least, striking up a conversation. Taking pictures is also a sure way to avoid other individuals with whom you don’t wish to interact.

Parties can be awkward, especially if you aren’t acquainted with a lot of other people there. Sneaking away to a bathroom to snap some mirror pics can save you from some uncomfortably long conversations—but aren’t those a part of life?
Being able to sustain conversations with strangers is an essential tool for job networking, making new friends, and just general socialization. Having break-out photoshoots has become a way to avoid this discomfort.  

More than anything, the obsession with these picture-parties and the social media wave that follows seems to be a facade. Sometimes, parties are boring, regardless of whether you’re at a family event or sneaking around in your classmate’s basement. But, after spending hours contemplating a quirky theme and selecting an ~appropriate~ outfit, it would be a shame if Instagram didn’t get a small glimpse of your creative genius, right? 

I’m not by any means calling for an end to the high school party-going experience or demanding that people stop snapping pictures with their friends. If you like the way you look in a certain photograph, or if it brings you legitimate happiness, I’m not going to condemn you for sending it out to the social media void. But don’t let the culture of taking pictures prevent you from having a genuinely good time or force you to pretend that you had one in the first place.