The camera often lies

Recognise this image? 

Have you seen it circulating again with all kinds of derisive comments about kids and phones?

A bit of research (and it didn't take a lot) reveals that the kids were actually researching a school assignment when the photo was taken. 

And the photo is nearly 10 years old. 

Other photos from the Rijksmuseum show a different story.

Photographer Gijsbert van der Wal explained: “A small group of high school students were sitting on the benches in front of Rembrandt's 'Nightwatch'. Almost all of them were either looking at their own smartphones or their classmates’. I thought it was a curious sight and took a photograph. “That same evening, I posted the photo on Facebook where, to my utter surprise, within a few days it was shared almost 9,500 times. The image was also reposted by others and shared on Twitter, Tumblr and Reddit. It went viral, with people often adding rather dispirited captions: today’s youth is more interested in Whatsapp than they are in Rembrandt. “On the other hand there were people who warned not to be misled by the image: they asserted that the students were in fact attentive to the art works, using the museum’s freely downloadable multimedia tour.' 

Don't believe everything you read on social media.