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A study has found that the simple act of snapping a picture can help people engage more deeply with an activity or a moment, potentially increasing their happiness and overall well-being. Unfortunately, there are usually two kinds of people in the world: those who take pics of everything and those who never do. The constant picture takers can sometimes get a little annoying, but hey, at least they’re happy!

They can’t help but capture every sunrise, pause for every aesthetic setting, and always let their phone eat first. They use their cameras to catch the small moments that others might not even notice. They may be “living through their camera roll,” but one study revealed that they might actually be onto something.

A study found that people who annoyingly take pictures of everything are actually thriving compared to everyone else.

A 2016 study published by the American Psychological Association found that your friends who are constantly taking photographs might be a whole lot happier than your friends living camera-free. In the study, 2000 people were given cameras and asked to participate in different activities — some with the camera and some without. Afterwards, they were asked to report how much fun they had during each activity. 

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It turns out that the activities they were the happiest doing were also the ones where they took the most photographs. Commenting on the results, one researcher from the study said, “We show that, relative to not taking photos, photography can heighten the enjoyment of positive experiences by increasing engagement.” Presented this way, photos as the key to happiness make a lot of sense. And the fact that it’s me saying this really means something. I’ll tell you why. 

When I was in high school, I hated how obsessed everyone seemed to be with taking photos. It felt like I spent most of my senior prom posing for pictures or waiting for someone to be done taking another picture. I was totally baffled. It’s not that I didn’t get the importance of building memories of life’s special moments, but more that I worried that in being so obsessed with capturing them on film, we miss those special moments when they are actually happening. 

In spite of what this study might indicate, I still kind of feel this way. How else can I explain the hackles that rise on the back of my neck when I see a teenage tourist wrangling a selfie stick?

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To me, people who take photographs obsessively and constantly are always going to miss out on the feeling of being in the moment.

But maybe that’s just not true for them. Maybe the moment for them is more than the present one they exist in. Maybe for them, “the moment” extends to the period of time long after it’s over, when they can look back at photographs and smile.

They would have to rely on the photographs more than their memories anyway, because research has shown that photographing an experience can actually diminish how much we remember about it. It’s called the “photo-taking impairment effect” by psychologists, and it refers to how we offload our memory onto a camera when taking pictures.

On the other hand, photos can also serve as visual aids to enhance memory. Other studies found that seeing pictures taken by others can help us recall additional details that we had forgotten. The key is to strike a balance between using photos to capture highlights of an experience while still enjoying the smaller moments organically.

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Smartphones have changed the photography game.

I do take more photographs now than I ever did growing up, but that’s not exactly because I’m happier. It’s because I have a smartphone. Not only because it’s more accessible for many, but also because many of the settings are automated. You don’t necessarily have to know the mechanics of photography to point the phone and snap a quick pic.

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According to research from UK photo printing company Max Spielmann, over 90% of photos are taken with smartphones, not professional or film cameras. This equals roughly 4.7 billion per day worldwide. From capturing the biggest and most important moments of our lives to snapping a photo of what you had for breakfast, smartphones can make taking pictures easy and fun for everyone.

For some of the moments in my life that have meant the most to me, there were no cameras in sight. I don’t think these experiences are less valuable because I didn’t take photographs. If anything, they are more precious because the only proof those moments ever even happened exists within my mind. I don’t know that I buy this study 100%, but I do know that anything a person can do to help themselves be happier without hurting anyone else is a thing I can get behind. So click away, selfie-takers!

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Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer and the former Senior Editor of Pop Culture at Newsweek with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, and true crime.