Today’s families snap and share photos digitally at an unprecedented rate. In fact, by the time children reach their fifth birthday, they are featured in nearly one thousand online photos! However, sharing photos online is not the same as displaying your family photos on your walls or in an album. Think about it, when children are at home, they do not see pictures stored on your phone or shared on your social media pages. When children see their photos displayed throughout their home, it becomes physical evidence of your family’s history and precious moments. These artful displays remind children, at any age, of who they are and where they fit into their family’s unique story. It shows children that family is essential and that each portrait and milestone displayed bears meaning to the family. Studies have shown, and psychologists agree, that children who grow up surrounded by family portraits have a more profound sense of belonging to their family. This footing within the family leads to increased confidence as they grow older.

While families take more photographs than ever, there is less physical evidence of these images. Historians wonder how this generation will be remembered and refer to this phenomenon as the digital cliff or lost generation. More importantly, they worry if the digital cliff will negatively impact the family’s ability to create well-knit bonds through stories told through the physical evidence of pictures. Let’s consider past generations. In the absence of the digital world, families were more likely to print and display photographs. In fact, they are more likely to recall how their parents coaxed them into sitting still for a picture because this one “was going into the family album.” By saying this, they immediately knew that the picture was special. The family album and portraits visible on the wall held a sacred space within the home. Guests visiting the home were typically given a tour of family portraits proudly displayed on the wall. Children, hearing these stories, felt included in these moments even if they were too young or weren’t even born yet to remember them. This repetitive storytelling by flipping through albums and referring to portraits displayed around the home created a well-knit story about the family. Back then, photographs and albums made the home feel like home. Today, family’s stories communicated through photos shared on social media are often voiceless and rarely repeated once posted.

Let’s face it; many family artifacts get lost or damaged through time. Portraits, on the other hand, have endured since the ancient Egyptians. Why is that? By design, family portraits are a permanent artful rendering of your family that will last many lifetimes. Like the ancient Egyptians and others throughout the ages, families who invest in family portraits knew that the pictures they take today will become a historical record of their family. Family portraits endure because of the care they are given. Unlike loose photographs that may get tossed in a box and forgotten, portraits are printed on archival paper, framed or canvased, and therefore preserved for future generations. Families are less likely to mishandle a beautifully canvased photo and more likely to participate in its preservation. Families should also note that pictures contained on social media accounts and other digital spaces are sometimes lost due to data privacy protections. After much research and finding the FOREVER Guarantee, we began using FOREVER.com for our family’s digital conversion and archive. It gives us peace of mind knowing that our children will have heirloom quality portraits and digital copies of our photos to share with their children. As you can see from what we outline here, portraits, albums, and digital archives are essential to preserving your family’s history. It is also a vital way to enhance your family’s well-being. Seeing your family’s happy faces prominently displayed in your home is an investment very few people regret.