I always thought of photos, videos, content etc. as ghosts-- bits of memories saved into disjointed systems.
These ghosts live out their lives too! Some are aggregated, some gets repurposed as scams for spam sites, some plucky ones get drafted as trending memes, and the rest just... exist.
We don't see all these ghosts everywhere but as you pointed out it's a matter of time before one day we all become ghost busters.
But the thing is I don't think we'll be any more non-plussed about it. Because the day when we can self-identify ourselves online that novelty wouldn't feel all that different from any other futuristic day we live in. What with jetpacks, heads up goggles, glass displays, electric cars and more.
Assuming we're on an exponential innovation scale towards singularity we will inevitably grow bored, internalize the change, accept it for what it is and move on to the next shinier toy.
These ghosts live out their lives too! Some are aggregated, some gets repurposed as scams for spam sites, some plucky ones get drafted as trending memes, and the rest just... exist.
We don't see all these ghosts everywhere but as you pointed out it's a matter of time before one day we all become ghost busters.
But the thing is I don't think we'll be any more non-plussed about it. Because the day when we can self-identify ourselves online that novelty wouldn't feel all that different from any other futuristic day we live in. What with jetpacks, heads up goggles, glass displays, electric cars and more.
Assuming we're on an exponential innovation scale towards singularity we will inevitably grow bored, internalize the change, accept it for what it is and move on to the next shinier toy.
The future is pretty nifty.