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Those Pesky Phone Cameras

If there’s one thing that has become a worldwide phenomenon, it’s those phone cameras.  They are everywhere you look.  People are constantly taking “selfies” during everything they do.  To make a selfie more attractive, there is even a selfie stick that will allow the phone to be further away enabling someone to get more of the background in the picture.  This can be extremely useful if you don’t want to lug around a larger camera during an event.

These phone cameras are also being used for taking videos.  You must live under a rock if you haven’t seen some of these videos highlighted on the news.  We are now watching crimes taking place, mistakes made by people, animals doing silly things and our kids sporting events.  Those are the positive side of a phone camera.  There is, however, a darker, negative side.  There are many who enjoy taking a video of themselves or their friends committing a crime or harassing someone.  There are those who take pictures or videos of people they feel look bad.  And there are those who now feel the minute they are involved in any interaction with a police officer they need to whip out the phone camera.

There have been criminal charges and lawsuits brought about by what has been captured on a phone camera.  These images have helped solve crimes and helped stop bad behavior.  But it has also made it harder for a police officer to do his or her job with all those people trying to get in there to get the incident recorded.  It makes a tense situation even tenser.  Taking a video of someone you are confronting will only increase the tension.

Taking pictures of people going about their normal lives has made everyone realize you need to be very careful at what you say or do.  These pesky cameras have taken away a bit of our freedom.  No longer do people feel comfortable being themselves and expressing their true feelings for fear of being on YouTube.  Some people have had their lives ruined by a picture or video of them that makes their actions seem questionable.  Many times what is seen does not accurately reflect what was happening. Remember, it’s only a tiny piece of the whole event.

It is always good advice to be on your best behavior when in the public eye.  These pesky phone cameras can be a wonderful technology, but they also can have a negative impact as well.