I recently went back and forth about archiving my high school graduation Instagram post. Every time I look at my own page, it’s a glaring red that makes everything look less cohesive. The low quality picture of bright red grad gowns completely takes over my grid. It simply does not fit the personal image or aesthetic I’m going for. So I did archive it. For all of two minutes.

When I really thought about it, it was probably the most “me” post I have up. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime milestone compiled with pictures of all my loved ones. I was the salutatorian of my class, but I wanted to hide that accomplishment simply because of visual aesthetics. In today’s age of social media, we’re all so obsessed with our perception online that we don’t care about being our authentic self anymore. I’m mainly concerned with social media being used as a majority of young people’s only form of memory keeping when most of it is inauthentic. 

Personal memory keeping is so important. Nowadays, we’re losing actual authentic memory keeping for plastic, curated projections of how we want people to perceive us instead of as we are. Again, I’m not promoting ditching your aesthetic Instagram or baring your entire soul online. I certainly still want to have a certain image as well. My goal isn’t to be negative or call for a stop, I’m calling for another option. I’m advocating for more young people to dive into the various lost arts of private personal documentation.

Scrapbooking, journaling and private forms of memory keeping are so rare and few these days. A lot of people in Gen Z solely rely on social media to capture their best memories. It isn’t physical. If the internet ceased to exist, most would lose all of their personal photos with nothing to show for it at all. People of older generations can’t say the same because they didn’t grow up relying on the internet. They had to keep their memories in physically tangible ways. For example, my mother has tons of scrapbooks starting from her early 20s to when she had my youngest brother. Looking through those books is so deeply personal and real in a way that a TikTok or an Insta post aren’t. The image of her printing those photos out, taking her time to scrapbook the background and put stickers on makes it so much more special. It’s a one of a kind piece of art that cements those moments in time forever. Imagine your child not being able to have that experience with you. Imagine how impersonal it’ll feel to see all your best memories through a bunch of old posts. 

Personally, I used to journal basically everyday. I only really stopped when I started being more on social media. It just felt easier to document my days or big events through it. I understand that the world we’re in today rewards fast easy tasks and pushes aside old time heavy ones. Still, we must think of our future selves a little. Having a physical scrapbook or journal is much more personal than something completely digital. Even if it takes more time than the typical post, the reward is far greater. Recently, I’ve been trying to substitute posting on social media with journaling. Though it’s difficult to build a new habit over again, I know in the end my mental health and personal sense of achievement will thrive at the end of it. 

Another good alternative, and a more modern version of self-documentation, is video diaries. I’ve really wanted to start getting into video diaries ever since I got to college because so much is happening that simply can’t be captured in written words. How much more authentic can you get than an actual unscripted video of what is happening around you? As a film student, it also just interests me more. It’s a good marriage of the social media-prone style of memory keeping we have today and a more physical, tangible object outside of it. Digital cameras are so popular that many people are sure to already have one. If not, there’s many cheap, cute ones that would make a great investment. 

Whether it’s through written words, crafts or videos, personal documentation is so important. It’s an investment in your and your loved ones’ future. Memories are all we’ll have at the end of our days, and ensuring yours flourish after you is a beautiful pastime to pick up. I, for one, am definitely going to indulge in these hobbies more, and you should too. 

Heidi likes to write about film, pop culture and all things spooky. Email her at [email protected].