I save too many photos to my camera roll. At the time of writing this, I have a grand total of 2,776 items in my camera roll. My camera roll has every form of savable media across the spectrum: Gifs, superhero memes that only I find funny, videos/screen recordings, the occasional selfies, and screenshots. Oh my God, the screenshots!
I have a problem, a legitimate problem when it comes to screenshotting stuff I see online. According to the new iOS screen time feature, as of this week, I spend five hours and forty-three minutes a day looking at my screen. Averaging a weekly total of FORTY hours a week! Apparently, twenty hours is devoted to browsing social media, ten hours of entertainment and an hour and a half on "creativity". Now a normal person would probably recommend I cut back on my phone usage. I'd have to disagree with that. We live in a globally connected world. News about development to a story can be sent out in mere seconds and thousands will have read it in the first hour.
Let's backtrack to my camera roll. Many people are probably wondering what I particularly save in my camera roll. What catches my eye as I scroll through my social feed and compels me to screenshot it, or to screen record it? And how many selfies do I actually take?
1. Screenshots
Marc Anthony Brown
I have tons of screenshots. I screenshot Instagram posts, tweets, and YouTube videos just to name a few. When I screenshot Instagram posts it usually depends on the account. For example, I follow a video edit account and a lot of the time they edit a video with a catchy song that I want to listen to later on. So, I screenshot their captions or if they don't put it in the captions, I hope someone had asked or commented the name in the comments section. I also screenshot trivia posts, pictures of captions written out to state a fact. A lot of the time these are superhero trivia posts but occasionally I screenshot one of those random fact pages. Screenshotting tweets has been a growing habit of mine over the last few months. These are usually tweets that I agree with and I feel that someday I will use them in an argument. So far that day has not happened. I also screenshot just as reminders. If I see a YouTube Video I can't watch at the moment I screenshot the thumbnail so I remember to watch it, eventually.
2. Screen Recording
Ever since Apple introduced screen recording to iOS, it has made my job as a social media influencer easier. I post a lot on my Instagram Stories and I use Screen recording in scenarios where my followers need or want to see what's on my phone. A lot of the time it is usually me showcasing something I found on Twitter. Other times they are cool features I find when an app updates. For example, back in 2018 when YouTube allowed videos to start playing after viewing the thumbnail for a bit. I also screen record some YouTube Videos that I use in my Instagram posts. These are usually scenes from cartoon series like "Batman: The Animated Series" (1992) or "Justice League Action" (2017).
3. Gifs
Young Justice: Outsiders "03x07"
Marc Anthony's Brown iPhone
Gifs are a new resident of my camera roll. I am very introverted when I meet new people but eventually the few individuals that do get to know me, know I am very expressive with my body language. This is a subconscious thing, probably due to years of watching cartoons as a child. And I've been finding more and more gifs that I feel I could use in key situations. Possibly group chats (If I'm ever part of an active one), or in text conversations (With someone who understands my references). Hopefully, I will have a plethora of gifs where I can become the master of gifs.
4. Videos
A lot of my videos today are just saved Snapchats or Instagram Stories. Back when I was an active filmmaker, I would use the awesome power of the iPhone camera to record scenes that I would put in my films. Sometimes the iPhone camera filmed a better picture that my Nikon camera during playback. I also use the " Repost App" and save a lot of those Instagram edits I mentioned earlier. The filmmaker in me just can't help and appreciate some of the edits these people post. Those loops are killer sometimes. Also, they are superhero ones a lot of the time so that's another plus.
5. Actual Pictures
Took this when I needed a new Facebook Profile picture
Emilee Napier
So, I feel like we all have a bunch of selfies in our camera roll. Well, at least I hope everyone else does. I won't say I have a ton, but I have those pictures you use in case you need to create a new profile picture. You always have to be prepared. Another thing I save are pictures people use on Twitter. A lot of the time they are comic book panels that I would like to tread later. I also started drawing again and trying to make my art more professional looking. I am really liking how a lot of my drawings are turning out. This year I am trying to do a few unofficial personal resolutions. One of them is getting back into drawing.
As you can see my camera roll is a mess. It usually takes an hour to just transfer them onto a computer. And then they usually clog up my computer. And I am too stingy to delete a lot of them or sort them all. I told myself during winter break I was going to do it but I only ended up creating more items to deal with later. I find it hard to believe I've accumulated so many images, and I have yet to find someone to rival mine. I have too much power at my disposal with this iPhone. Maybe it is time to take a break… ha-ha no way.
