Why taking photos makes things MORE fun: Capturing moments on film helps us to ‘become immersed in the experience’


  • Taking photographs focuses our attention rather than being a distraction 
  • Photographers found to spend more time looking at museum exhibits
  • Even thinking about taking a picture ‘makes experience more enjoyable’ 

Fiona Macrae Science Editor For The Daily Mail

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When your view of a concert or a firework display is blocked by a forest of smartphones and selfie sticks, it is easy to assume the amateur photographers are missing out on the magic of the moment.

But far from not enjoying themselves, they are probably having a better time than you are.

Research has shown we enjoy ourselves more when we take pictures.

Sightseeing, museums and lunches all seemed more fun when captured on film.

Scientists say that far from being a distraction, looking at life through a lens focuses our attention and so makes us feel more immersed in the experience.

People who take photos are more immersed in the experience and enjoyed themselves more, a study has found

The researchers carried out nine experiments into the psychological effect of taking photos.

These included real-world studies, in which people went on bus tours, visited a museum and at their lunch at a farmers’ market.

In each case, half were asked to take pictures and everyone was asked afterwards how much they had enjoyed themselves.

The results consistently showed that those who took photos were more immersed in the experience and enjoyed themselves more.

Eye-tracking equipment used on the museum visit revealed that the photographers spent more time looking at the exhibits.

Lab experiments revealed that it is not the mechanics of taking a photo that gives us a boost.

Instead, simply thinking about taking a picture is as enjoyable as actually taking one.

The University of Southern California researchers said that far from distracting us, photography forces us to focus on what we are doing, in much the same way as the driver pays more attention to the road ahead than a passenger.

This makes us feel more engaged with the experience and leads to us enjoying it more.

Even taking snap after snap doesn’t cut our fun.

However, there are some limits.

If we are doing something very mentally challenging, photography doesn’t add to our enjoyment – but nor does it spoil it.

Sightseeing, museums and lunches all seemed more fun when captured on film, researchers from the University of Southern California found

And if we are looking at something that is upsetting, photographing it makes us feel worse.

Researcher Kristin Diehl said that the modern-day obsession with photographing even the most mundane events made it an important topic to study.

Writing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, she said that the wide-spread availability of smartphones means that photo-taking has become a ‘daily and ubiquitous activity for millions of people’.

In fact, is estimated that the number of photos taken annually worldwide will rocket from 0.3 trillion in 2010 to 1.3 trillion in 2017.

Dr Diehl said: ‘With the explosion in the number of photos taken, the breadth of experiences being documented as also expanded.

‘Traditional tourist spots are still photographed heavily, however people are increasingly taking photos of almost every type of experience, including the more mundane experiences of their everyday lives, such as their food.

‘While taking photos during an experience adds another activity, unlike traditional dual-task situations that divide attention, capturing experiences with photos actually focuses attention onto the experience, particularly on the aspects of the experience worth capturing.

‘As a result, photo-taking leads people to become more engaged with the experience.’ 

 

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