Has Instagram ruined the authenticity of travel? I think yes.
The boat was nearing a little cove. White cliffs amidst a crisp blue sky. The dramatic colors of the sea. “Quick, take a shot of my perky ass while I look out into the distance” – Instaho.
This is not an “open letter” to all of the world’s influencers and overworked (and never paid) Insta husbands. This is just commentary. Food for thought, if you will. But am I alone in the notion that Instagram has ruined the authenticity of travel? No. Surely, I cannot be. For they really fucked it good.
I miss my pre-gram traveling days when you actually had to make memories with your eyeballs and talk to people face to face. What a concept! When you had to enjoy the moment in the moment and not post a fake moment as if it was a real moment because let’s face it, it was not a real moment, just an Instagrammable moment.
I was on a boat tour in Milos island in 2020 that took us to Kleftiko on a sizable catamaran. (I hate public tours but that’s another rant). We shared the boat with other tourists of course. If this experience took place in 2013, I am pretty sure all of us would have been engaged in our surroundings, talking to one another and sharing magic.
In 2020? Phones out, snappity snap, take a pic of me here, move your hair there, lemme do it again, ok now your turn, line up to take a photo here, don’t talk to me because I’m taking a photo…..
I wanted to bitch this one girl overboard when she just. Wouldn’t. Stop. Taking. Boat. Selfies.
Instagram, I curse you for ruining the art of travel!!!!
And that is the thing: travel is indeed an ART. Not just a quick escape or an overpriced holiday.
The true essence of travel as I know it (and as I seek it) is the concept of getting lost in a foreign land, learning the local language, stepping outside your comfort zone, growing and evolving with the challenges that travel brings and connecting with new people through conversation and experiences.
How can all of this be done if 98% of your time traveling is spent photographing yourself in front of something pretty? And then…leaving when the photo shoot is over? Excuse me, but you forgot to actually enjoy yourself?
I urge you to strongly consider your decision-making process when planning your next travel destination. How much of that decision is influenced by Instagram or how “Instagrammable” that destination could be, versus pretty much everything else that this destination could give you? Are you finding yourself spotting locations on your feed and then planning your next destination based on a reel or a video or a post you saw, rather than listening to an inner calling that might feed your soul X 10?
Why is this even important to understand?
I will tell you why.
I cannot tell you how many times I have met travelers who were disappointed with their trips. “It didn’t turn out as expected,” they sigh.
“What might you have expected”? I ask.
“Well it’s just not as pretty.”
“I was expecting something different.”
“It’s not as striking.”
“People here are rude.”
“When I got there, it looked so different…”
Than…what you saw on Instagram? There is your problem.
It was late spring 2012 and I had saved up enough cash to take myself on a European holiday. For some reason, I kept getting called to Greece. I have never been there in my life. I have no family or heritage there. I just could not get that country out of my head. I fantasized about the scenery, the people, and the blue hues of those seas. It was a literal calling from a spiritual entity.
No Instagram posts told me to go there. I went there because of something unexplainable. Something quite magical. To this day, Greece is my adopted home because I answered a true travel calling that extended far beyond a pretty picture in the palm of my hands.
I simply struggle to believe that you could find that same connection to a travel experience by letting Instagram tell you where to go. Am I guilty? Of course. I love posting photos of my travels. BUT I DO NOT LIVE FOR IT. I also try not to let others’ overly posed, heavily photoshopped posts tell me where to go either.
All I am saying is: try closing your eyes and start fantasizing about being in a foreign country. See what naturally comes to you. Maybe it’s not supposed to be a beach, but rather a bustling city. Maybe it’s not supposed to be Asia at all, but rather a strange and instinctual calling to go to Africa. In order to have the time of your life, you must allow a deeper part of you to help fuel your decision making process rather than, well, just being “influenced”.
What are your thoughts on people’s obsession with Instagramming everything when they travel and how do you feel it positively or negatively impacts you? Share feedback and comments below!
Thanks for listening to my little rant,
With love,
Your digital nomad
