Use of social media could lead to better historical documentation

Poodle skirts and milkshakes, peace movements, and crazy hair styles, are only a few examples of how trends can define a generation. While the current generation of teenagers, generation Z, are currently in the process of defining their generation, one of the main trends is the extreme use of social media. Along with this extreme use of social media, comes the overwhelming number of selfies, pictures of food, and other photos. While seeing these photos spammed over social media accounts can be boring now, in the future this constant documenting of the fashion trends, selfies, and other pictures could be helpful.

In the past frequent photographs were not taken and therefore when a photo was taken it was taken to the highest of its ability. This means that until recently, realistic photos of day to day lives were difficult to come by. It is extremely difficult to find photos of daily lives during the 1800s when the first cameras were invented. It is even difficult to find pictures of daily lives during the 1940s and 1950s. If these time periods were better documented using photographs, it would be easier to teach about these eras, and easier to understand what daily life was like.

However, as generation Z is taking photos of every aspect of their day to day life, in future years when history is being taught, there will be more documentation of generation Z. By taking photos daily generation Z is becoming one of the first generations which is successfully documenting day to day life. With the number of pictures of food, fashion, activities and true day to day life, future generations will have more information about what life was like in the past.

Sometimes, it is even difficult to find many photos of important scientists, authors, musicians, and other historical figureheads when looking farther into the past. No one would ever complain about having more, if any, pictures of historical figures living their day to day lives, as it could better inform us of their personal lives. For example, while many people are familiar with Albert Einstein’s scientific work, there is little information and photographs of his personal life.

As people in generation Z begin to make scientific discoveries, make long lasting novels or songs, or potentially become other types of historical figures, there will be large number of pictures and information about the person’s life readily available. Since generation Z is actively documenting all features of their lives starting at young ages, information about their childhoods, teenage years, and adulthood will be able to be seen by anyone who wants more information about a person without having to dig through textbooks or other second-hand sources.

Not only is there documentation through photographs, but it is also possible to document a generation based on written word. While it is important to have newspaper articles and formal documentation, it can also be helpful to see people’s genuine reactions in letters and informal circumstances. It may be easier to understand a generation based on letters of people reacting to events, than reading about the reactions in a textbook or other formal source.

Another benefit to generation Z’s use of social media is the written word. Tweets, Instagram posts, and Facebook profiles will allow future generations to know reactions to events, understand trends, and better understand the day to day life of generation Z.

While the number of pictures and text posts being spammed over social media may currently seem nothing more than a nuisance, eventually it could help future generations to better understand life for generation Z. The documentation of the upcoming generations should not only be tolerated, but encouraged because eventually it may help future generations.