Keyla Campos Morales
Patrick Londen
Engl 4 - Section
14 October 2018
A Place In Your Heart
In the piece Why Place Matters,Wilfred M. McClay and Ted V. McAllister argue that
although some have replaced the experience of the real world for a virtual one, physical places
are still important They also believe that devices with access to this virtual reality has caused
people to become detached and emotionless, affecting their memory and relationships.
Therefore, people don't make memories and associate them with various places. Although we
live in a world full of distracting technology and endless social media platforms, McClay and
McAllister’s perception on the effects of these things on people is flawed. Technology has
brought people together like never before and new emotional memories with places are made
through photographs, videos and social media.
Phones and cameras may be a distraction for a while but they prove to be very useful in
the long run. For example, wedding pictures hold a great amount of emotional value to any
couple. Being able to capture perfect frames of a moment where two people experience nothing
but happiness seems too good to be real.This allows everyone to look back at those photos and
experience the same joy felt on that particular day. Every time my mom and I sit in the living
room, she mentions her wedding picture on the wall, telling me how happy she is with my
stepfather and how much she wishes she had they both had time to go out more. Rather than
potentially “losing place entirely” , we are using our devices in a way to benefit us emotionally.
Another example would be photo albums. Photo albums help the bond between person and place,
encouraging the brain to think back to specific moments which is triggered by looking at old
photos. My family has an album full of pictures of when I was a child. Nothing feels more
special to me than sitting down and thinking back to a time where I had no worries or problems. I
bond deeply with my mother as we laugh about silly pictures taken during birthday parties or
family trips to Disneyland. Going back to places where the photographs were taken prompts me
to feel nostalgic as I remember what occurred there. The truth is that without our devices, people
wouldn't be able to remember very specific moments like I do, such as having my face smashed
into a cake by my cousins on my birthday. Despite the new technology we have access to, we
still get sentimental when looking at photos of places where we had tons of fun and we continue
to create bonds to these places.
Videos are also a way for the tie between people and place to grow. Every phone
nowadays has a video feature, allowing people to capture great moments in time and keep them
forever. I remember as a child I’d watch video tapes of family trips with my mother. We would
point out specific parts we and reminded each other of the fun we had there. Often times we’d
start off with “Remember when” and follow up with “Oh yea...
