In this project, I hope to use various elements to create a scrapbook of typical life events. Life progresses differently for everyone, and there are very few lives that follow the exact same path. However, there are many phases of development which mark each state of development. This work will hopefully function as a scrapbook, not necessarily of specific life events, but of the changes in perception of the self, others, and the world as an individual progresses through their lives.
Furthermore, it is a unique way of chronicling an individual’s life from birth to death all in one book. Typically people may have a few different scrapbooks created over the span of their lives, such as a baby book created by parents, homemade scrapbooks created at different phases of life such as school, marriage, and parenthood to name a few. They may also have some sort of scrapbook created by a loved one after their death. However, these scrapbooks typically do not encompass the entire course of a lifetime. With the advent of the internet, and the likeliness of sharing every detail of life online, such an extensive account of one’s life is becoming more probable. Parents post every development and milestone online. From younger and younger ages, children become involved in social media. Adults of every age have become reliant on social media as well. And finally, when a person dies, their social media rarely is deactivated, but rather, remains, acting almost as a shrine, a place for their loved ones to remember, reminisce, and even communicate with the deceased. In this sense, it is not implausible that the internet could become a scrapbook detailing every phase of an individual’s life, capturing and preserving not only memories and life events, but the various phases of development.
To view the digital content of “Developmental Scrapbook,” click on this hyperlink.