It may be old-fashioned, but there are still some folks who like to print out Facebook photos and physically share them with friends and family. The phenomenon was recently noted by a Reddit user, and many others shared similar stories.
According to PetaPixel, Reddit user OutbackBrah shared some printed photos of Facebook screenshots that his aunt took to Walmart. Some users were taken aback by the outdated method that his aunt used to share photos, but others related similar tales.
“My mother in-law takes photos of her computer screen with a camera to have copies of photos of grandchildren off Instagram. She tries,” said Reddit user savethetriffids.
Some Reddit users, who also happened to work at stores that still print out physical photos, mentioned that customers put in orders with screenshots of Facebook photos frequently.
“I run the photo department at the Walgreens I work at, and this kills me every time. Some people bring their phones in to do it in [the] store, and I literally take their phone and download the photo from Facebook [or] a text message for them, ’cause they have no concept of what to do, and I don’t have enough time to explain it to them,” said Reddit user Katsock303. Other users who also work or have worked at photo labs say that it’s a “constant thing.”
Some questioned whether printing the photos out was a good idea, citing the high cost of printing photos for retailers, as opposed to the free cost of just sharing the pictures with their friends and relatives on Facebook. “Retail photo places’ printers are like $6K minimum, and if they have a really big one that still does chemical for film, they could be leasing a $100,000 machine,” said Reddit user Shadydave.
The trend of printing out photos from social media platforms isn’t just tied to Facebook – artist Richard Prince printed out Instagram photos and used them in an art exhibit. There have been reports that some of Prince’s works have sold for upwards of $100,000. Many Instagram users expressed outrage at Prince’s exhibit, calling it “massively illegal.”
Although there will always be a need to print photos, many people agree that photos on social media can be shared for free, as opposed to taking it to a photo lab.
