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Let’s talk about Instagram. Is it good for the travel industry? Is it healthy for travelers?
Photos are more reliable than memories. Memories can get fuzzy over time, while photographs stay as sharp as the day they were taken. But in the age of Instagram can we really trust what we see in pictures?
Instagram provides all sorts of filters and editing options for everyone to use. Not to mention the staging that goes into taking that perfect Insta shot. Is what we’re capturing and seeing on Instagram showing real life?
A new study shows that 40% of millennial travel is based on the “Instagrammability” of a destination. Picture taking is of paramount importance while traveling, but is Instagram the strongest force in millennial travel?
A survey done by UK-based holiday rental home insurance provider Schofields provided some interesting finds.
Here is the breakdown of reasons millennials from the survey say they travel:
- Instagrammability of the trip – 40.1%
- Price of alcohol – 24%
- Self-realization– 22.6%
- Sampling the local food – 9.4%
- Sightseeing opportunities – 3.9%
According to the survey, millennials care more about how they appear online than they do about the price of the local booze. The desire to look good online even outpaces personal development.
Why actually improve yourself when you can make it look like you’re improving yourself? No one can actually see personal development. You can’t add a filter to that.
Photo by Elijah O’Donell.
It’s also interesting to note that millennials are not as into sightseeing opportunities. Moreso, they are looking to take pictures of the sights they see. Instagram has changed the dynamic of travel photography from “see how pretty it looks here” to “see how pretty I look here”.
That’s not to say that people don’t belong in travel photography. Portraits are some of the most stunning photos you can take while traveling. But focusing just on getting the perfect shot of yourself might be missing the point.
Photo by Jakob Owens.
We were recently chatting with another blogger friend about a famous Instagram couple she met on a press trip. Their group was taken to a waterfall in Laos where you can swim in unbelievably blue waters, hike up to the top of the falls, swing on rope swings, and take a bamboo raft to the water source with a kind old man. We were there in 2017 and it was amazing!
When they first arrived at the waterfall she watched the Instagram couple set up their camera and tripod at the bottom of the falls and start to take pictures, while she and other bloggers started the hike. They went off and explored, and two hours later when they returned the couple was still in the same spot attempting to take the perfect shot. Then it was time to leave.
Instagram may be that couple’s business, and their photo is surely beautiful, but to what end? Is it worth missing out on experiencing a place just for a pretty picture?
Traveling for Instagram has even become more popular than traveling for food! Trying the native cuisine is by far one of the best ways to get in touch with the local culture and learn more about traditional cooking. And adding food pics to Instagram is one of the most annoying best parts of a meal! Sharing about what you’re eating can inspire others and is a way to share about an experience and a culture.
Instagram and the Travel Industry
Instagram has become a new-wave travel agent. People flock to Instagram to see the latest and greatest pictures from those they follow and draw inspiration to go see the world for themselves. It is estimated that 70% of Instagram’s photos are related to travel in some way.
Whether it is a destination or a picture of food, people are sharing aspects of their travels more than anything else on Instagram. More than puppies!
Seriously, people?
Instagram has become an integral part of the millennial travel experience. Sharing the world through the lens of Instagram is how many people reach their peers. The chance to inspire other people to see the world is a perfect way to share the joys of travel and of a particular place.
Companies are taking notice of these trends. Hotels are ditching their formerly austere white lobbies for more pops of color. They are also adding different design elements to their buildings like kitschy chandeliers to get more pictures posted.
We admit we have taken photos at hotels just for the ‘gram!
Some destinations are even adding special “selfie zones” to direct potential Instagrammers to desired locations to get, like, the perfect shot. All in the name of free advertising.
New Zealand has gotten onboard with Instagram in a big way. Using Instagram in their tourism marketing has led to a 14% growth in tourist numbers in certain parts of the country. Highlighting the natural beauty of the region and showcasing its Instagrammability has led to a huge boost in millennial travel for New Zealand.
But not all of this Instagramming is safe, unfortunately. In Goa, India, there are now established “no-selfie zones” after a spate of drowning deaths from travelers looking for the perfect snap.
Depression, Millennials, and Instagram
Editing software can remove lens flare, edit colors, and add bunny ears. But it can’t remove student debt and low wages. Millennials suffer depression at a higher rate than previous generations.
Seeing the edited and polished photos of Instagram travelers sharing an unrealistic portrait of travel life can’t be helping.
A quote by Philip Perry on Big Think on mental health risks for millennials.
“Social media too may be exerting its influence. Seeing peers portrayed with perfect bodies, achieving noteworthy goals, or modeling RomCom-worthy relationships, increases feelings of insecurity, and so ramps up competitiveness and the desire to do well. The drawbacks are a propensity toward mental health issues, body issues and even, social isolation.”
Scrolling through Instagram and feeling that fear of missing out (FOMO) is creating real-world consequences that impact people’s lives. What we filter out of Instagram is probably more important than what we choose to include. But who can blame people for wanting to show our lives as interesting?
Just chilling on the edge of a roof. What? This is how I always sit! Photo by Kahari king.
Is Traveling for Instagram a Good Thing?
Traveling to pursue the dream of Instagram fame is not a fulfilling way to travel. Travel is about the journey, not the likes on social media.
It is hard to appreciate the world for all its glory when you are constantly checking your phone to see how many likes your latest post has gotten. Travel is supposed to open your eyes to people, places, food, and culture. It is not a chase to recapture a photo that has already been taken by someone else.
Who benefits from the pursuit of the perfect picture? Businesses are changing the looks of their hotels and hostels to drum up likes and comments and online chatter about their businesses to drive millennial travel sales.
The Instagram star gets more likes for finding the latest in kitsch and perpetuating the self-feeding cycle of edited authenticity. The Instagram end-user is inspired to travel abroad and recapture the sights they’ve only seen on a screen.
Inspiring travel is a noble cause. Telling a story through social media that connects people to a place and to one another is admirable. Social media itself is not evil. The lusting and lies it maintains are.
Instagram may not always paint a full picture and tends to gloss over the less glamorous parts of the travel experience, but showing off the natural splendor of the earth via the internet lets people know that not only is travel possible, you can look good doing it.
Obsession with Instagram is not a healthy way to go through life. But if Instagram is what is pushing millennials to travel, so be it. It is up to each of us to decide what about travel matters most to us and to post on Instagram, or not, accordingly.
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