I’m 21, so I’ve grown up with a camera almost permanently within reach, my life a blur of real moments and the little red record button. I’ve heard every variation of “put your phone down and live in the moment”. But for many of us in Gen Z, filming is how we live in the moment.

Older generations often assume that if you’re recording something, you’re not really there. They picture rows of phones blocking the view at concerts, or teens taking selfies instead of looking at the sunset.

But when I press record, it’s not about vanity or detachment. The act of documenting makes me pay attention to light, sound, mood, meaning. I don’t just experience a moment – I frame it, replay it, try to understand it.

I started filming myself when I was confined to a hospital bed, undergoing the early st

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