Keller @ Large: Experience Life Without Taking Pictures Of Everything

BOSTON (CBS) - There was a pretty funny cartoon online the other day depicting the sinking of the Titanic.

As they clung to bits of wreckage, the survivors were all doing the same thing: snapping pictures of the ship going down on their smartphones.

Obviously, they didn't have smartphones in 1912, and maybe they were the lucky ones.

I love my smartphone camera and use it often. But I don't use it at funerals or during religious services, two venues where some of our more clueless fellow citizens have been known to snap away as if it were a parade.

The ubiquity of smartphones has offered some social benefits.

Many a perpetrator of violence or theft has been caught on camera, and we can only hope the mere threat of their presence will act as a deterrent over time. Politicians can no longer get away with hypocritical speech or behavior, or at least are at greater risk of getting caught.

And oh, those cute online videos of babies and puppies doing cute stuff! How cute are they?

But like all modern technology, there's a price to be paid.

You think the government is a threat to your privacy? Your fellow citizens may be an even bigger threat.

And when you see people experiencing life through the lens of their smartphone, you have to wonder how healthy that is. Maybe some experiences should just be enjoyed, without being recorded for posterity.

So if you see me on the street and want to snap a selfie, by all means, let's do it.

But don't be surprised when I ask you if you really want to waste storage space on that.

Listen to Jon's commentary: