Wednesday 15 April 2015

SO when did it become ok? #picswithpermission

It has been brought to my attention that Michael Bublé, with the help of his wife, posted a picture on Instagram of himself with a woman in the background.

Check it out here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/michael-bubl%C3%A9-sparks-social-media-firestorm-with-body-shaming-instagram-photo-1.3033757

When did it become OK to take a picture of someone in public without their permission? I remember back in the day you asked people if you could take their picture. Since the invention of cell phone cameras everyone is a journalist, photographer, and unsympathetic social documentarian. But should we be? When a professional photographer takes a photo of someone to use it for stock photography, a photo release paper must be signed. Now I am not saying to walk around with scads of release forms ready for signatures but what happened to the responsibility of having such a powerful yet destructive tool in our hands? Where is the social etiquette around taking someone's picture with their permission? Can we start such a movement? 

I abhor the People of Walmart photos. I cringe when I see such photos taken and no care or consideration has gone into other people’s thoughts or feelings; then to finish it off with crude hashtags and comments. We as a society are to lackadaisical in the way feel entitled to take snaps of whatever we want and wherever we want without repercussions.  We have been desensitized to saying its OK, it is just a picture. We are smarter than that; it is not just a picture. We have learned that the old cliché “sticks and stones may break my bones and names will never hurt me” is a complete fallacy.

So where do we go from here? If you are in agreement with what I am posting please share. Let’s start a movement. A #picswithpermission movement. Share it, hashtag it, and help boost awareness on internet privacy.





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