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<\/p>\nThe 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.<\/p>\n
I, of course, am no exception. I tend to track my experiences, especially through Snapchat stories, to remember them and share them with others.<\/p>\n
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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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
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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 \u2014 at least among NBA fans \u2014 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 \u2014 Red Panda is Snapchat gold.<\/p>\n
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Finally, seeing\u00a0Get Out<\/em> 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 \u2014 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\u00a0use a phone in a theatre, I captured the night with a simple photo of the movie poster.<\/p>\n Overall, I find Snapchat\/social media an effective way to remember experiences. While these examples are an exception, I find adding captions \u2014 I usually try to stick to humor \u2014 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 \u2014 the average person wasn’t always able to do that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n