Against Smartphone Cameras
By Edward Willis (http://encw.xyz)
Published Feb/14/2022

I think that it really sucks that smartphones have image and video cameras,
because it means wherever we are in the world, if we're in public, someone could
pull out their cell phone and capture our image, and put it online.

I was saddened to discover recently that videos that are humiliating to
strangers are a huge category. What does it say about our society when
humiliating strangers we know nothing about is a past-time?

I remember when having something unfortunate happen, or having an awkward or
silly moment, which is something that happens to everyone, was just a moment in
time. Now you never know whether your worst moments will end up preserved online
for tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or millions of people to
laugh at you.

We've never had a right to privacy in public, I know, but what we've got now is
awful, and certainly isn't what we had before smartphones.

Maybe we are benefited on the whole by having the cameras, but I still feel that
something important has been lost.