iPhone 5 Camera Is Great For All Your Food Snaps [Humor]

With all the hoopla surrounding the impending iPhone 5’s possible launch in September, a number of very talented people with maybe too much time on their hands have been creating some hilarious promo videos for the mythical new device. My favorite is an iPhone 5 parody written and directed by Adam Sacks that captures the spirit of an Apple promo video so perfectly that it would pass as an official Apple video if the content it presents wasn’t so funny and ridiculous. Or is it? This time, it’s all about the iPhone 5 camera.

It seems that using our iPhones to take photos of food and uploading them to Facebook is a scarily common occurrence out there. I have to admit that I’m guilty of doing this from time to time, especially given I co-host a whole web video series on culinary experiences! It would be interesting to know how much server space is being taken up at Facebook for pictures of food.

What this iPhone 5 parody video taps into so well is a recognition that the immediacy of social media interaction that devices like the iPhone provide fundamentally distracts us from the experience itself. When the presenter is describing brunch with his girlfriend with whom he has nothing to talk about so they take pictures of their food with their iPhones and upload them on his MacBook via Wi-Fi to Facebook, you know there is a problem; especially when he goes on to say that within minutes people were liking and commenting on their photos and telling them how much fun they were having. The icing on the cake is when the presenter almost sheds a tear when he acknowledges that just for a moment, he felt like he was having fun for real.

In general, I’ve never found social media particularly interesting from an “interacting with people” point of view, outside of keeping in contact on the odd occasion with people you don’t see that often any more. On the flip side, social media is a great marketing tool and a way to get any work you put online out to the masses, like when I write blogs like this one! As for the iPhone, it’s a computer in your pocket and an amazingly handy tool. But you won’t see me texting while I’m crossing the street or posting a status update on Facebook while I’m in the middle of a conversation with friends. At these times, it’s best to give the magical device a rest and leave it in your pocket.

I’m sure the iPhone 5, or whatever it will be called, will be fantastic and push Apple’s smash hit device to new levels of success. I’m sure there will be lines going around the block of people salivating at the thought of being among the first to obtain Apple’s latest and greatest gadget. And I’m sure while they’re waiting, they’ll be on their current iPhones texting, chatting, posting and tweeting about their experience. I’ll be trying to get my hands on the new iPhone as soon as it comes out, but I do draw the line at queuing at the store; I’m happy to reserve one and wait for it to come in!