The Matter of Vaccination Selfie Restraint
A person has received a vaccine and is now deciding whether to photograph their bandage for public distribution.
Terms and Conditions Governing Vaccination Selfie Restraint Effective as of Receipt of First or Second Dose, April 2021
Article I: Scope of Application
These terms apply to any individual who has received one or more doses of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine and who is currently in possession of a smartphone with a functioning front-facing camera. Application of these terms is automatic upon receipt of the adhesive bandage.
The bandage is a small adhesive strip applied to a site of minor medical procedure. Its appearance in a photograph signals participation and also announces that participation has been logged.
Article II: The Primary Tension
A vaccinated person experiences genuine relief. The relief is private. The photograph would make it public. This transaction is not simple.
Posting the photograph means something. Not posting the photograph also means something. Both decisions are social communications. One communicates that the person is vaccinated and wanted to share that. The other communicates that the person is vaccinated and has views about people who photograph their bandages.
Either way, the person has communicated.
Article III: Conditions Governing the Photograph
The photograph may be taken. The photograph may be taken without being posted. The photograph may be taken, posted, deleted, and denied. These are all recognized outcomes under current guidance.
If the photograph is posted, the caption is subject to a separate review. Captions that describe the experience in terms of relief, hope, or gratitude are common. Captions that describe the experience in terms of completion of a civic duty are also common. A caption that combines both elements and adds a tag for the vaccination site is permitted but noted.
Article IV: The Restraint Condition
Restraint means the person has considered posting and elected not to. This is distinct from never having considered it. Both parties in this transaction should be clear on that.
Restraint in this context does not mean absence of feeling. It means feeling has been converted into a decision about posting cadence.
Article V: Subsequent Doses
Second-dose selfies operate under different expectations. First-dose selfies indicated initiation. Second-dose selfies indicate completion. The second photograph may therefore function as a closing document rather than an announcement, and is subject to correspondingly reduced social pressure regardless of the posting decision.
Article VI: Governing Rule
The arm is not evidence. The arm is an arm. The photograph of the arm is also not evidence, except that it keeps existing on someone's camera roll until they either post it, delete it, or find it two years later and experience an emotion that is difficult to name.
Proceed accordingly.