Why Aren't There Any Photos Of Me With My Boyfriend?
Susan Sontag described this conundrum in her 1973 essay, Photography. "A way of certifying experience," she wrote , "taking photographs is also a way of refusing it  by converting experience into an image, a souvenir." Now, an angst-ridden thirtysomething raking over the finer points of her personal life is obviously not what Sontag had in mind when she set out to pen her defining work of criticism. But I suspect  and bear with me here  that our shared reluctance to commit ourselves to film is not a sign that my boyfriend and I can't stand the sight of one another but rather confirmation that we're doing pretty well, thanks for asking. Not to generalize but it seems to me that the vast majority of couples embracing the Instagram soft launch, for instance, are in their early to mid 20s. When you're that age, the future stretches endlessly before you, a new experience lying around every corner. The next one will be along any minute. Maybe this (quite a lot older) couple's hesitation to pause whatever it is we're doing so that we can photograph it is an acknowledgement that the cupboard of new experiences isn't as well stocked as it once was.