008: Documenting Your Life

Proxy

With every photo, every status, every thought we share and memory we hold onto in some form or another, we document our lives. But why do we do it and who is it really for — ourselves, or for everyone else? In this episode of PROXY, we try to identify the difference between documenting your life and simply living it, and if they're really any different at all.

In This Episode¦

Telling Your Story

• Why Sidney started Snapchatting and vlogging
  • Casey Neistat — Fat and Lazy
• Documenting your life before modern social media (3:11)
  • The unexpected value of putting yourself out there (5:03)
• How the internet has transformed our perception of documenting our lives (6:12)
  • From Xanga to Snapchat

For Your Eyes Only?

• How having an audience can change your narrative and how you document your life (8:27)
• Why document your life if you choose to keep it to yourself? (9:22)
  • The middle-ground between for yourself only and for the entire online world (10:33)
• Bernard's take on the private end of the spectrum (11:00)
  • By documenting the moment to remember it for later, are we missing out on experiencing it in the now? (12:06)
  • Sidney on why technology might not play as big a part as you'd think (12:41)
• Memories for yourself, or validation from others? (15:48)

Some Things Are Better Left Unpublished

• The anti-social forms of documentation (17:17)
  • Examples (not mentioned): Goodreads, MyFitnessPal, Fitocracy, a physical diary, etc.
• Bernard on why he quit social media (18:34)
  • From Bernard's personal blog: Shedding Some Light on Going Dark
• How to focus on yourself when you're sharing for everyone else (21:08)

A Society of Storytellers

• A simple hypothesis as to why everyone is documenting (22:05)
  • Why this isn't new and we shouldn't be surprised
• Sidney's advice on how to find your voice and the story you should be telling (22:47)
• Bernard's final word of caution as someone who's been there (23:15)
• At the end of the day, this is what it's all about (25:16)

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Theme Music by Gila Monsta