This is a bit of a two parter. First of all, watch this great animated piece from Chris Ware / This American Life that I'm just somehow seeing now. It tells the tale of a schoolroom experience involving fake cameras and a loss of humanity through documentation. It's a morality tale told by first-graders but it's a good one.

Secondly, read this response to the animation from Joseph Gordon Levitt - who has a different take on the use of cameras and the connection to humanity. He argues that cameras engage the operator with the world, not disconnect them.

In my opinion, our lives are little more than the stories we tell ourselves and each other. I’m quite certain that the massive increase in people walking around with cameras these days is far more than a passing trend. It’s a sign of progress towards a connected and engaged society.

While I completely agree that the camera thing is no passing trend, I can't help but think about concerts and people holding up their Flip cameras to record a performance instead of just experiencing the show for that fleeting moment. Going back and reviewing the experience will only remind you of the time you taped some band, not when you saw them. I fail to see how it connects people in the moment.. which, to me, is the important part of the whole deal.

Thoughts?