In a world of selfies, Instagram likes and Facebook’s new “love” feature, people are putting more emphasis on documenting an experience than really enjoying the experience itself. We participate in an event (concert, party, sporting event, social gathering) but spend most of the time trying to get the best picture to generate enough likes to make us feel valued, heard and appreciated. As we view life through the camera lens, we are missing the big picture.

Since campers don’t have access to technology while at camp, the pictures that are taken of them are real snapshots of what they’re doing. They can’t crop, rotate and edit a picture before they post it and they can’t over analyze how they look or worry about if the camera got their best angle. Instead, the picture will show them sweaty, messy, busy and real. It will show the macaroni and cheese stain on their shirt, the crazy faces they make as they fly down the zip line, and the real, genuine look of accomplishment when they face a fear for the first time.

Posing for pictures at camp is beneficial for the campers’ self image. It helps campers become more confident about who they are without the need to fix, edit, change, crop or filter anything out. Kids get so wrapped up in social media and how they are portrayed to the world that they often forget to appreciate who they really are. Self confidence issues happen when teens begin to think that the perfect images displayed on their friends’ Facebook profiles are real life. They forget that for the one perfect picture that was posted, there were probably 50 others that were taken that didn’t make the cut.

Campers will also realize that without the instant gratification of Social Media likes, pictures are just that, pictures. When a photo is posted on Instagram, the amount of likes it generates give it a perceived value rather than letting the picture speak for itself. This can create self-esteem issues and detracts from the true purpose of pictures – to document memories that you’ll want to remember. Just because a picture doesn’t receive a lot of likes, doesn’t mean it isn’t an amazing snapshot of a great memory. The ability to remove yourself from the “like” culture and instead just enjoy what you’re doing is invaluable.

Promoting high self esteem for campers is something counselors take very seriously, but a lot of it happens naturally. Kids learn that it is okay to just be a kid, and that every moment doesn’t have to have the wittiest, funniest hashtag. When family and friends back home see pictures of kids at camp, they get a real snap shot into a summer full of real friends, real adventures, real laughs and real, life changing experiences. #nofilter.