In today’s digital era, it seems like everyone and everything important always gets posted online. Information, pictures, links—anything you can imagine—ends up online, ready to be tracked and remembered. This is especially apparent with social media, where there’s an emerging idea that “if you didn’t record it, it didn’t happen.” Every moment and memory has to be posted and shared online, whether through a direct post or the more recent Stories feature on many apps.

When you start observing social media behavior, especially among Gen Z, you notice something interesting. From the stories of friends and colleagues, you see the most random and specific updates about their day—whether it’s about people, food, or places. It’s as if the Stories feature on most social media platforms has transformed into a “digital photobook,” offering a glimpse into the lives of your friends, if only briefly.

If you want to learn how your IG Stories could become your own digital photobook, here are a few ideas on how the feature excels at preserving the various moments of your life:

1. Stories Efficiently Capture Your Daily Life

Simply open your phone, take a picture, and post it to your Story. Maybe add some stickers or text if you like. Stories quickly and efficiently capture your life as it happens, easily shared with friends on your account. Once posted, it’s saved to your archive at the end of the day.

2. Stories Encourage Interaction

One of the best aspects of Stories is the ability for friends or followers to react or respond. It could be as simple as replying to a joke or sending congratulations after a graduation Story. They’re excellent conversation starters, sparking new discussions with friends based on a Story you posted.

3. Stories Allow for Cross-Collaboration

Here’s where IG Stories surpass a physical photobook: they can be easily remixed. Stories are often reposted by friends with additional captions and stickers. You can also tag friends to notify them of shared memories. It’s like a photobook passed from person to person, with each friend adding their own unique touch, all stored in their digital “photobook.”

4. Stories Take the Pressure Off Perfection

Not entirely, but the temporary nature of a Story changes perceptions. While anything posted is remembered beyond the day, the time limit makes the stakes lower. There’s less pressure to achieve picture-perfect layouts and aesthetics, allowing for a more candid online presence. Stories reflect your profile while offering a touch more honesty and rawness due to their temporary nature. Social media is about sharing and being social, after all.

5. Old Stories Resurface on Your Feed

Arguably, Stories become an archive of memories because they actually become archives. Stories vanish after a day but move to your vault, ready for you to revisit. Social media apps sometimes remind you of memories from a year or two ago. Unlike regular posts permanently on your profile, these notifications can be fun to relive and recall.

People use the Stories feature on IG, Facebook, or other platforms for various reasons, but it’s savvy to appreciate the unique quirks of this feature as a way to record memories. That’s the essence of social media, and Stories do it uniquely. The best thing about Stories is how they preserve these little moments of life in the present, acting like time capsules shared for a day and stored in the archive until an anniversary brings them up again. It’s thrilling to look back suddenly on moments saved from last year and watch the memories flood back.

Stories offer an easy way to reflect on the past, seeing how much has changed and how far you’ve come. Perhaps they’re a beautiful way for you to record your own memories.