They stood on the beach, backs to the ocean, perfect evening light — not to watch the day end, but to record it ending. Different angles. Rehearsed laughter. Retakes. The waves kept coming, but for them, the only tide that mattered was the algorithm.
I’m not against content. I click. I shoot. I edit. But here’s where the generation gap hits me in 16:9 — I shoot in landscape. Always have. Always will. And yet, someone inevitably says, “Portrait, please.” In my head, I can almost hear “Uncle” that follows, even when they don’t say it.
It’s almost poetic. Gen X was about the wide view, the big picture — you’d frame your friends and the sunset. Gen Z? Tight shots, vertical focus. Why? Because the only frame that matters now is the phone screen. It’s not just a format change; it’s a worldview shift.
From Albums to Algorithms
Gen X’s camera rolls were actual rolls. We had 36 exposures, so each click was a decision. We developed film, prayed no one blinked, and then slipped the prints into albums that lived in cupboards. The ‘likes’ we chased came from relatives pointing at a picture and saying, “Nice one.”
Gen Z? They’ll shoot 500 photos in 5 minutes, delete 490, post 10, and then spend the next hour refreshing for engagement. The cloud has replaced the cupboard, and the cloud is hungry.
Living in Portrait Mode
We used to capture moments as they happened. Now we perform them. School kids are doing “Get Ready With Me” reels in bathroom mirrors. Couples on vacation are spending more time adjusting angles than watching sunsets.
I get the appeal — instant reach, creative freedom, the dopamine drip of notifications. But I also wonder if life has become one long self-tape audition for… something.
The Currency of Consumption
Every generation has had its addictions. Gen X had chain emails, forward-this-or-else luck warnings, and Friends reruns. Gen Z has TikTok dances, trending sounds, and AI filters that make everyone look like a 90s K-drama star.
Both generations are chasing the same thing — attention. We just differ in the medium, the format, and the speed at which we burn through trends. Landscape or portrait, we’re still angling for the shot that says, “Look at me.”
Zooming Out (or In)
Maybe the real divide isn’t about age. It’s about aspect ratio. Generation X saw life in widescreen — imperfect but expansive. Generation Z sees it in portrait — sharp, optimised, and ready to scroll.
Neither is wrong. But if we’re not careful, we’ll forget that outside the frame — whichever way you hold it — is the rest of the world, unfiltered and unscripted. And some of it is worth seeing without thinking about how it’ll look on your feed.
