As RMHS students begin their school year, the hours of homework, studying, activities, and volunteering begin to build up; the stress grows until a well deserved break is inevitable. Fall is here and crisp air calls from outside, tempting students to leave their studies to be outside. However, for every fall outing, a post on social media is followed. Apple picking has become more about portraits than the fruit. Apple orchards become photography studios as children, teenagers, millennials, and parents swarm to take picture with their cameras or iPhones. Kids climb trees in attempt to capture interesting candids that have the potential of gaining over one hundred likes on Instagram, or maybe over twenty on Facebook if they’re lucky.
I’m starting to wonder if the all of those half-bitten apples that sit lonely on the grass under the trees were only half eaten for a quick pic before heading home. Last year I witnessed a group of middle school girls taking a picture together around an apple tree. Why is it that my first thought was of disgust? Years ago I would have thought, “That’s nice, they are capturing this moment to look back at years from now.” Now I am only filled with disappointment; I fear people no longer care about the outdoors, but rather see nature as a way to update social media.
I also lean towards apple picking as a means to buy apple cider donuts and take some “artsy” pictures (that I plan on posting on Instagram later), but I still relish the falling leaves... at least I think I do. On an autumnal weekend, I went to Brooksby Farms to go apple picking. I was excited to pick apples, eat apple cider donuts, and walk around the farm to start the fall season.
Of course, I also had my camera with me; I had to ask myself, am I doing this because taking pictures makes the activity more enjoyable, or because I want to snap the right picture for my Instagram feed? I witnessed families taking pictures together and friends commenting on what the best position would be to take a candid the trees. Perhaps, taking all of these pictures isn’t such a bad thing after all; maybe it’s just enhancing one’s experience, as an article in the Boston Globe wisely said. I did take a picture of myself in apple tree.