It’s 2023 and almost everyone with a smartphone also has a high-resolution (分辨率) camera built-in. We carry this image-making ________ with us at all times. We snap photos and videos of our daily lives.

Every day I record something. It seems I ________ go 24 hours without snapping a photo or video of some sort. I began to wonder — why? Why can’t I just go a day without pressing the shutter (快门) button? My huge number of photos and videos began to ________ me.

I’ve loved photography since I was a teenager. Lots of cherished family ________ were documented. Revisiting them was like ________ a treasure box. I’m ________ for these visual records because they showed my youth and growth.

For more than a decade I worked as a professional filmmaker and photographer because I loved the ________ conveyed by the story on video. I recorded a wide range of varieties, therefore collecting tens of thousands of ________ — both still and moving. However, gradually I felt I was drowning under them and so I deleted a large part. This was ________ but in some ways it set me free.

Image taking and ________ have greatly changed ever since the social media became popular. Like it or not, it’s not surprising to see many have become ________ sharing our lives on the social media — about 86 million images are ________ to Wechat daily. We want to show others what we’re up to. We want to be seen. We want to ________. Perhaps it helps us feel less ________ as if someone is there to see us grow and achieve. We don’t feel as if we’re ________.

2020 is drawing to a close. I haven’t seen my ______ in a year.

“Take care of yourself, my dear granddaughter,” she spoke into the phone. “I’m ______ already and have lived long enough. Don’t you worry.”

I didn’t want this to be her last ______. While I stay locked in the Klang Valley, she lives far away and is indifferent (不感兴趣的) to modern technology — which makes _____  difficult.

I knew she really ______ to see my face and began to try to find a solution.

“Baby steps are the key. Start with what she already ______,” came the Internet advice. ______, she knows WhatsApp and that has a video call function.

While the task is simple enough to us, the cloudy eyes of old age make it a(n) ______ task — coupled with the fact that the Internet connection isn’t always ______.

The first attempt had some good results, ______ the angle (角度) was off. I could only see the very top of her head. In the second attempt, we made a little progress, but the poor Internet service ______ to allow us to see each other.

After two ______ attempts, I could tell she was getting upset. “It’s going to be worth it!” I ______ her during our next call.

Finally, on one good day of Internet connection, her face was on my screen.

Our experience shows that even if we can’t see each other ______, the Internet still makes it possible for loved ones to be continually ______.