Why We Take Pictures Susan Sontag Analysis

Susan Sontag goes off on how taking pictures is more common now than back then and how it is used as "a defense against anxiety and a tool of power," in her essay, "Why We Take Pictures"(page 130). Sontag expresses people being disoriented as one of the anxieties of modern life travel. Everything is new and different; where many people are not sure on what exactly to do but just take a photograph. Sontag believes that taking pictures relieves such anxieties because one can capture the moment of something wonderful causing their mind to forget about their worries and reminds them that they are on vacation for a reason; enjoyment and relaxation. People feel like they have a sense of control when taking pictures, because they decide what they

Although there are some people that take pictures to remember things, it is not taking the picture the reliefs their anxiety, it is having the picture to look back at in future time. People may feel they have power when taking a picture because they can control how they want the outcome of a picture to be perceived, but in reality their phone or technology has control over them. People do not have the self control to stay attentive to something fully if they have to pull out a phone or camera to show others that they are paying attention. People are actually anxious to capture something, because they feel they must have a physical copy in order to remember. When they could easily be fully concentrated, experiencing it in person and that way being able to have a more concrete memory of it. Phones control how one experiences things, since they are needed to capture the photographs and later post on social media where people become anxious to know if people liked the photo or how they are going to react. There is no need to prove to anyone that you did something as long as you know you did and you have the amazing experience in your long term memory. Overall, people are more connected with their experience just being aware of everything rather than an object doing the job and containing the memory for one. No one can take a memory away from you, but they can take away all the