Traveling and Social Media: What You Need to Know
Do you remember the time when you are excited to travel to another place to immerse in it and make the most out of your experience? Perhaps, until now you still are. This is not true for everyone though. According to surveys, 54% of people traveling to another place are busier updating their social media instead of just enjoying the experience.
This is true especially among young people. Every activity that they do has to be posted online. This is why if they are visiting a place where there is no access to the internet; it feels like they have not visited the place at all. They would also decline visiting outdoor locations especially in remote areas since they won’t be able to post their photos online anyway.
Go ahead and take photos
There is nothing wrong if you decide to visit these places and take photos. After all, it would be great to capture the moment. However, it does not mean that you have to post these photos right away. You can start posting them later once the trip is over. Imagine if you post one photo on Facebook. You will then start to obsess on the number of likes it has received or the comments people leave. If the comments are good, you will have the urge to respond and say thank you. If the comment is bad, you will get angry and go on an unending comments war. Before you know it, you have already wasted your time fighting trolls online.
Use social media for suggestions
Not all aspects of social media are bad though. You can still make use of social media if you wish to get suggestions from other people. This is true especially if you have not spent a significant amount of time researching your destination. You can ask your friends where to dine or which places to visit and how to get there. You may also ask for money saving tips. You may also visit Facebook pages on travel destinations to get more ideas. If this is how you use social media, then it would be great.
Post once everything is done
After the trip, you can post photos or give some reviews on your social media accounts. This is not really about bragging what you have experienced, but more on sharing your experience with friends. You may also give them advice on how to enjoy those places should they decide to go later. Another advantage of posting after the trip is that you have enough time to edit the photos or even select the best photos from the bunch. You won’t be time bound and you can enjoy interacting with your friends if they leave comments.
There are a lot of travel destinations in the world. Find the best places that you can enjoy and take as much photos as you want. However, you must not let social media bother you and prevent you from making the most out of your trip.
Photo Attribution:
Featured and 1st image courtesy of Kittisak / freedigitalphotos.net
2nd image courtesy of Stuart Miles / freedigitalphotos.net
