Between 2009 and 2012, Apple's 'Send to YouTube' feature caused a 1700% spike in YouTube uploads, with videos defaulting to the iPhone's IMG_XXXX filename convention. Millions of these unedited, largely accidental uploads remain publicly searchable on YouTube today. Searching for 'IMG_0416' (or any four-digit number) surfaces raw, unproduced glimpses of strangers' lives — a woman unboxing her first published book, a family learning about potash, a Boston college student snorting powdered sugar, and a pregnancy reveal. These videos represent an unintentional archive of authentic human moments, forming what the author calls the most genuine social feed on the internet.
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IMG_0416 (Mar 17, 2015) - 23 viewsIMG_0416.MOV (June 24, 2015) - 26 viewsIMG_0416 (Feb 8, 2011) - 114 viewsIMG_0417 (Mar 14, 2014) - 16 viewsSort: