Our world and its photos
"Doesn't it seem like people are sending their Christmas cards late this year?" my friend asked as we made dinner for our families late in December. It did. And there were fewer of them, too. We string our cards up on a line across our kitchen as a kind of garland, and this year for the first time, the cards didn't make it all the way across. If I use our garland as a measuring stick (comes in handy that way), there were probably 25 percent fewer this year.
Christmas card-sending has been on the downturn for years, but I wondered: why the sudden notable drop this December? The answer, I think, could be Instagram. While Facebook's been going for years, Instagram's popularity is newer… And because Instagram's only about photos, it functions as a steady stream of select-the-best-moment images of daily life. Once you've shown the best, up-close pictures of your people, what's the point of a Christmas card? It almost seems redundant. Christmas cards send cheer and an update: here's who we have. Here's what we/they look like. Here's what we're up to. Today, though, Instagram takes care of all of this for us. Three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. With two-way dialog (in the form of comments). For free. Making Christmas cards feel almost obsolete.
