I first heard the decree from lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong when I caught Green Day on tour this past summer.

"Put away your cameras!"

Of course, knowing Billie Joe's penchant for swearing at every possible opportunity, it was littered with a few more expletives than that.

But as a perpetual rule-follower, I restrained myself from snapping photos during the show, and I soon understood what he meant by his request.

Time and time again, we become so consumed by eternalizing an event that we forget to actually enjoy the moment. Taking pictures used to be a matter of celebration; now it's become woven into our lives, popping up at what seems like every event, no matter how mundane.

At the Green Day show, I realized that I could better appreciate the music without repeatedly pulling my bulky camera out of my jeans pocket every five minutes to catch yet another (blurry) shot of the band.

Months later, I still have a decent recollection of the concert. And while the memories will surely fade as the years pass, I think I'm OK with that.

In a February post on The New York Times Gadgetwise technology blog, blogger Rik Fairlie explored the issue of taking photos at concerts.

"Today, digital technology has made it possible to photograph just about everything," Fairlie wrote. "And our culture has evolved into one that does just that, documenting and sharing every experience on Flickr or Facebook, whether advisable or not."

This is the crux of the problem. In today's techno-savvy world, we're armed with the tools to take as many photos as we want. In fact, we're encouraged to do so. Then, once we've taken all of these photos, we have precisely the right platforms to share them with our friends -- and the world.

For example, each month, Facebook users add a total of 2 billion photos to their pages. With more than 300 million active users, that averages out to only about seven photos per person. Still, after taking into account the people who never upload photos, that's a pretty impressive figure.

Flickr just celebrated its 4 billionth photo, added on Saturday -- a little more than five months after seeing its 3 billionth photo, according to mashable.com.

These statistics aren't focused on concert photos in particular, but they provide a good overview of what our snap-happy culture is like.

In his blog, Fairlie also dreams about the creation of a special camera mode. It would have a disabled camera flash, no snapping sound and an adjusted exposure setting: ideal for clandestine photo-taking at concerts.

However, it may be more beneficial to dream of having the perfect perspective about the issue.

As I write this, I probably sound like a bit of a hypocrite: My own Facebook page is cluttered with photo albums of bands that I've seen live. Nevertheless, this obsession is something that I'm currently ruminating over and trying to correct.

I was recently asked what my favorite concert of all time was. Admittedly -- and embarrassingly -- I said that it was my first concert, *NSYNC. Sans camera, I relished seeing my then-idols up close and personal.

Even without the photos to prove it, it was the best day of my young life. I experienced the joy of music (if you can call it that) without trying to freeze-frame it for all of time. Feelings like that are both unforgettable and unrepeatable.

I'm still not perfect. I'm going to see my now-favorite band perform tonight, and you can bet that I'll snap a photo or two (or three or four). However, when I do, I'll make sure it doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of the total live music experience: the sights, the sounds and the oh-so-sweet memories.