The phone at time appears to be inescapable. No matter where you go, you’ll find people on their phones, taking selfies and snapchats, and picking out filters for Instagram.

I, of course, am no exception. I tend to track my experiences, especially through Snapchat stories, to remember them and share them with others.

Earlier in the semester, I visited Strange Land Brewery with a few friends. They had a special promotion for two free (small) beers. The event also featured a performer. Surprisingly, the venue wasn’t that crowded — probably because it’s all the way out in Westlake. However, it was one of the most unique beer venues I’ve seen. They had a system for giving their drinks a “poke,” where they’d take your beer halfway through and literally poke it with a scalding rod from a fireplace. I’ve never seen anything like it, but unfortunately I failed to capture the moment on Snapchat. Thus, I just took a picture of the beer itself to remember it.

While I go to every Texas basketball game, the Kansas game stood out to me. It wasn’t just the chance to see big-time NBA prospect Josh Jackson or potential Player of the Year Frank Mason III. Instead, it was the halftime show. Texas hosted “Red Panda,” a legend around NBA circles. She is famous — at least among NBA fans — for her extraordinary ability to kick bowls on top of her head while riding a unicycle. I’ve seen clips of her performances countless times on Twitter or when watching NBA games, so I felt I could finally scratch it off the bucket list. Of course, nearly everyone in the building was taking videos of her on their phones. Again, I was no exception — Red Panda is Snapchat gold.

Finally, seeing Get Out will go down as one of the highlights of my semester. Though billed as a horror film, you can definitely tell it’s written by comedian Jordan Peele — the movie is filled with tons of laughs. It also features a compelling commentary on modern racial tension. The film also stuck out to me for its use of the phone. At times, the main character’s smart phone is a key component to the story. It made me wonder how films will incorporate the smart phone, which has little to no presence in film history (obviously). Since you can’t use a phone in a theatre, I captured the night with a simple photo of the movie poster.

Overall, I find Snapchat/social media an effective way to remember experiences. While these examples are an exception, I find adding captions — I usually try to stick to humor — can be a fun way to make one’s experiences unique. However, I think there is a downside to using phones during experiences. While I’m guilty of it myself, it seems that people will shift their thinking from “how do I enjoy this experience?” to “what’s the best Snapchat I can make out of this?” Sometimes, getting away from the phone can be refreshing. Still, I feel fortunate to be able to share and capture my experiences — the average person wasn’t always able to do that.