Here’s Why Social Media is an Impediment to Traveling
There’s no denying the looming “monsters” we call Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat hiding in the back of our brains, calling out for attention whenever we do something interesting. Whether you post to include others, to show your status, for self-fulfillment, for entertainment, or some other reason, that is completely fine! However, before snapping and posting everything while traveling, take a couple things into consideration.
You aren’t living in the moment
It’s hard to contain your excitement while traveling, and every experience is so unique! It’s even harder because you want to share the experience with your best friends or simply capture it for yourself to look back on. There is nothing wrong with wanting to share or include others, but ask yourself these questions: How much time are you spending to get the perfect shot? Are you living in the moment? An example to think about is concerts; a majority of people now will be recording the entire thing, but imagine how nice it would be to embrace the band, feel the groove, and be hands free?
Likes do not equate to validation
More often than not, people in modern society find the instant gratification in receiving a like on a post. Likes are the new drug to millennials. Most people say that they feel good when they receive over X amount of likes, however how much is enough? Something to pay attention to is when is this emotional high is going to diminish. Is it after 50 likes? 100? 1,000? With this in mind, there really is no end to the desire for likes, as you will never feel fulfilled if you’re constantly craving more likes on social media. Instagram has been hiding the amount of likes on accounts since May 2019, testing this feature in several countries, including Canada, Australia, Italy, Brazil, and Japan. This will be useful to show that likes do not equal proof of your success. If you need a measurement of your validation for personal well-being, try circling back to the original way of speaking face to face with others who cherish your presence.
Diluting the experience
While on your adventure, there are many times you go to places specifically because you saw it posted by someone else. In turn, you then take a new picture or recreate it, and essentially it is creating this idea of where you are rather than an accurate portrayal. This can go on and on, therefore devaluing the originality of the place to begin with. Just think back to yourself a place you’ve gone to because you saw it on social media, expecting one thing, and getting there to find the ambiance completely different.
Contribution to the “snob effect”
The term snob effect originates from microecon, describing the situation where the demand for a product by high income segments varies inversely with its demand by those in the lower income segment. The more that you are on your phone posting about your trip versus just enjoying your trip, the more it really shows the income disparity and the demand that you feel the need to quench simply due to the fact that people in your social group are doing it. The difference with products such as iPhones and Galaxies is that unlike your normal products that have a demand increase when the price decreases, the snob effect will have the opposite effect- high prices and low practical value if we are being completely honest (at least when it comes to a trip). Imagine that everyone is slowly becoming a character from Clueless, but not in the good way. Do you really want to contribute to the snobbery?
Feeding your little narcissism demon
It’s no surprise that we are living in an increasingly narcissistic society, which does happen to correlate with the generational shift and the rise of technology. You guessed it, this includes social media as well. Since social media platforms focus on the user, they focus on likes, views, and comments, allowing users to feel better about themselves. This only gets more and more drastic as you go on social media more often. After a while, this inevitably will lead to those negative facets that create a full-on narcissist — inflated sense of self, entitlement, lack of empathy. So before you become a full on ego-centric maniac, try to feed that little narcissism demon a little less. It’s difficult to not want to share your fun experience with everyone while you are out and about, but perhaps refrain from posting until you are cozy in bed and done for the day, or save it until you are on your way back from a trip.
Destructive to mama nature
Many travel destinations have been seeing a drastic influx in tourism, largely in part by social media influencers. Today, countries are using influencers as a way to bring in more visitors, and it’s working! This is great for revenue and is even better when the impact is manageable. Something many visitors are not taking into account is how they are impacting mother nature. There are things everyone knows about such as trash not being properly disposed of. They increasingly can also be seen when you are trying to get that “wow” picture in some caves or snorkeling. What needs to carry more weight on your mind is how your natural oils are compromising the growth of formations, how your footprints can change something permanently, or how the choice in your sunscreen is impacting coral reefs (RIP Great Barrier Reef). Even on local hikes, small things such as not cleaning your shoes or tent afterwards can lead to bringing foreign flora and bugs to new locations, running the risk of introducing an invasive species to an ecosystem that cannot handle it.
Other cultures may frown on it
Lastly, if you don’t plan on slowing down your snap story for any other reason, the least you can do is be mindful of other culture’s beliefs. Whether it is because they are not as technologically advanced, or it is just frowned upon, try to pay attention to your surroundings. For example, Japan has announcements asking for mobile devices to be put on “manner mode” while traveling (aka silent/vibrate). If you see all the locals doing their own thing and you don’t see phones out often, I would refrain, but if you see everyone posting, go for it. To each their own!
Let’s be honest, I’m not the model tourist when it comes to this. However, there are things we can all cut back on and different ways to manage your social media use in order to benefit your experience. The first thing we can do while traveling is really being conscious of these factors and trying to see what works/doesn’t work for you.
Do you have any additional comments/ideas? Leave a comment to share!
