Insta vacations

 Going on holiday now means creating content for your social media feeds

We are quickly approaching that time of year when my Instagram feed gets overwhelmed by posts and stories about other people’s holidays. There they are on the beach, sunning themselves while sipping on a cocktail. There they are in the mountains, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate by a roaring fire. There they are trekking up a hill; skiing down a slope; taking cooking lessons; trying their hands at fishing, abseiling, skydiving, and more. The images come thick and fast and by the time I have scrolled through them all, I can’t help but feel a bit exhausted by this sensory overload.

 

Of course, I am guilty of the same sort of stuff when I head off on vacation. Rare is the breakfast that doesn’t get photographed; no sunset ever goes unrecorded; and I tend to overdo the selfies with my husband whenever we find ourselves in a beautiful location. But last week as I began to pack as we headed out on a trip, I couldn’t help but marvel at how Instagram has changed how we holiday (and by we, I mean all of us).

 

There was a time when we were bombarded with advice on how we should travel light. Pack a pair of jeans, some T-shirts, a dress for the evening, one pair of sandals, and some scarves to tart everything up and you’re good to go. That advice seems almost laughable now that Insta demands that we wear a different fabulous outfit every day (and night) so that we can chronicle our fashion choices. And it’s not just clothes. You also must have the perfect accessories: funky shoes and belts; statement necklaces; quirky hats; stylish sunglasses (and yes, you must have more than one of each!) so that you can show off the variety of looks that you can pull off.

 

Then, there is the choice of destination, which is increasingly dictated by where other people are vacationing on Instagram. During the pandemic, Maldives became a popular destination because every ‘travel influencer’ (read Bollywood starlet) was posing in a bikini frolicking in an infinity pool or lounging on a sandbank on one of its many islands. Since then, Croatia has become a popular draw, as have such smaller Italian cities as Siena and Bergamo. And once you are there at these Insta-friendly destinations, it has become de rigueur to pose at certain popular locations so that you can recreate the pictures that your mates posted a few weeks earlier. 

 

There was a time when heading out on vacation meant creating memories that would last you a lifetime. Now, going on holiday means creating photo-opportunities that will live on in your social media forever (and garner the maximum number of likes). The days when your holiday pix were just inflicted on immediate family and close friends are over. Now you can broadcast them to the whole world, looking for validation from strangers on the Internet. 

 

Is that necessarily A Bad Thing, I hear you say. Well, if you ask me, this Insta-obsession is fast taking the spontaneity and fun out of our holidays and making them yet another chore as we try and increase our social media clout rather than focus on just having a good time. And I, for one, am going to try and wean myself off.