“Dear Gabbie” is written with the simple hope of bringing a few smiles to your day and is not meant to replace the advice of professionals…especially your mom!

Dear Gabbie:

I have a friend who likes to show everyone photos on his phone—not just one or two photos, but many, many photos. After a while, I start to zone out. Am I the problem?

Signed,

Say cheesed

Dear Cheesed,

It’s not you! The convenience of cellphones has made it easy for people to snap pictures of anything and everything. The problem is when these photo enthusiasts don’t know where to draw the line between sharing something interesting and putting their audience to sleep.

Sure, a couple of killer shots of the Grand Canyon can be exciting, but 10 or 20 shots later it just starts to look like a crack in the sidewalk.

Short of leaving a copy of Stockbridge Community News folded to the “Dear Gabbie” page with this advice, I may not have a sure-fire answer for how to curb this bad habit, but here is one thing you can try: When your friend pulls his phone out, be ready. After viewing one or two photos, ask if you can hold the phone to see the photos better. Spend a moment looking at a few more, maybe zoom in on one or two, and then politely hand the phone back and bring the conversation around to another topic.

Gabbie