A generation sharing itself via mobile phone cameras spurs debate The growth of mobile photos: the contrast of the crowds in St Peter's Square in 2005 and 2013 and people, including Shane Warne, taking selfies. SOCRATES may have opined that the "unexamined life is not worth living," but for today's tech-savvy X and Y generations, it is the undocumented life that's not worth living. Whatever we do, think, see or eat must be documented and shared with the world. If it isn't pictured and posted online then there's a genuine concern that it didn't really happen. Last month, I met a Canadian couple in Milan who decided not to see The Last Supper because they wouldn't be allowed to take photos. Presumably, they didn't realise that photos of Da Vinci's masterpiece already exist or perhaps they thought the experience of seeing one of the great works of art would be diminished if they couldn't take a vainglorious selfie in front of the mural and share it on social media. The selfie, a self-portrait taken typically on a camera phone, has become an integral part of a social media user's online profile. They are generally harmless but many have come to regret posting cringeworthy shots of themselves in front of bathroom mirrors or making pouty duck faces at the camera. Celebrities are particularly adept at embarrassing themselves by sharing shots on Twitter or Instagram that would be best kept on their smartphones, or preferably deleted. Shane Warne earned the scorn of the online world for posting a topless selfie in bed that was unintentionally hilarious and triggered a series of copycat images. I imagine he was aiming for sexy but the tragic pic succeeded only in making you yearn for the fat Warnie of yesteryear who preferred milkshakes and cans of VB to fine wine and English crumpet. Instagram has revealed that users have posted more than 23 million images with the #selfie hashtag. It may be self-indulgent and a tad narcissistic but it's a phenomenon that could also cost the social-media set more than a little embarrassment. A report by On Device Research in May found that one in 10 people aged 16 to 34 had been turned down for a job because of pictures or comments they have posted online. The survey of more than 17,000 people also found the majority would not alter their social-media use despite the potential damage to their career prospects. That devil-may-care attitude is evident in the increasingly risque shots being shared. No matter how secure you believe your privacy settings to be, once you have posted an image on a social-networking site, it is public property and can be copied and shared without your knowledge. In the US, several states have passed legislation that gives employees greater protection from being fired for their online conduct. In California, password protection laws came into effect this year that prohibit employers from demanding an employee's or job applicant's passwords for social-media accounts. Last year, the Queensland police union warned members would risk their jobs if they didn't close their Facebook accounts. Its message was: "You don't just risk being de-friended, but also de-jobbed." One young constable is wishing he'd taken heed of that advice after becoming embroiled in a selfie scandal; the officer is being investigated for breaching the police force's social-networking policies by posting a picture of himself in uniform flexing an impressively sculpted bicep. Despite being described as a "good operational officer," the constable has endured a torrent of abuse from other police officers who have accused him of disgracing the uniform. Personally, I'd prefer members of the police force to be toned athletes, even if they are prone to a little bit of online vanity, rather than donut scoffing lard-arses. The furore that single image has created is indicative of the culture clash between the generations, with many Baby Boomers perplexed by the young'uns' obsession with sharing images of themselves with the world wide web. The penchant for photographing every moment is understandable given that mobile-phone penetration rates are well over 100 per cent in the developed world with many users having more than one device. Even in the developing world, 84 per cent of the population has access to a mobile phone. The International Telecommunications Union estimates that there are 6.4 billion mobile-phone subscriptions for the world's seven billion inhabitants. THE risks of over-sharing on social media are by now well-known. Concerns about identity theft, perverts grooming vulnerable youngsters, stalking, treachery and all manner of trickery have been documented. The added risk of irretrievably damaging your reputation and employment prospects may have some wondering why so many of us remain devoted to the medium, but there is also much that is positive about capturing and sharing cherished moments. Children these days have a comprehensive visual record of their childhood. There are more pictures of my son's first seven days than my entire upbringing. Perhaps it's because our attention span is so short that we can't trust our brains to store memories. Significant moments must be recorded and backed up. And there's much to love about social media; it informs, amuses and opens communication between people who would otherwise never converse. Mobiles haven't just revolutionised how we communicate, they have forever changed how we authenticate shared experiences and personal memories. There are two photos that best illustrate the dramatic surge in the use of mobile devices to record key moments; they are both taken in St Peter's Square in Vatican City as a large crowd awaited the announcement of a new pope. The 2005 picture shows people simply looking ahead, the 2013 version has just about every member of the crowd holding up a handheld device to record the moment for perpetuity. Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist and also features weekly on SEN's Casual Fridays from 12-2pm