I am sure that many people will have different opinions and answers to this question. It is a good question.
True, some people get so obsessed with taking pictures that they forget to be part of the scene themselves. OTOH, some people like doing that, and prefer to view everything through the lens of their camera – perhaps they are shy and use it to shield themselves from human interactions.
For me personally however, I spend 99% of the time enjoying an event, even if I miss many ‘great shots’. I just like taking a picture or two (seriously – just one or two) so that when I look over my collection of pictures, they bring back the memories of when I was there. My photo album is thus more like a photo calendar/journal, reminding me of past events rather than future appointments.
For that purpose, they don’t have to be such great pictures. It is certainly a bonus if the pictures are nice enough for others to enjoy, even if they weren’t there to remember it. But it only works if I took the picture myself, not if I just use a stock photo.