I cannot even open Instagram, without seeing someone I follow posting vacation photos. Amazing beaches, beautiful mountain tops and busy music festivals with start-studded lineups are just a few common photos I see on Instagram almost daily. Even I, the moment I land in a different country or head off on a road trip, almost immediately open up Instagram and start sharing my travels. Sometimes while travelling I will even use social media as a tool to try and find some beautiful and fun destinations. I don’t follow any travel influencers personally but, exploring different photos on Instagram can be a very useful tool. Below you can see am image I took of one of New Zealand’s treasures, the Champaigne Pool.
Photo by Michael Spinella
Social media can be a great way to share information on travelling. I recommend using it when trying to find beautiful travel destinations. Just a simple search on Instagram can lead to an incredible viewpoint, that you otherwise would have never discovered on your own. Just by searching the name if the city or country, even using a hashtag can lead you some incredible photos taht will ispire you to see it for yourself. Sometimes, you can even find information about places that you should avoid. I would argue that this is just as important as finding beautiful viewpoints. People are free to post their uncensored reviews of various places, so you know ahead of time to avoid it. Whether it is inspiration to travel or information on where you want to travel social media is a great source of information. The photo seen below is the along the coast of Gaspesie, Quebec whoch is an area I discover by searching on Instagram.
Photo By Michael Spinella
Of course, social media’s impact on trave isn’t alway positive. I cannot discuss social media and travel, without mentioning some of the downsides. Yes, it is believed by many mot hidden gems are no longer hidden gems because of people sharing information about it online. Also, manypeople use photography techniques and Photoshop editing to make certain things look more beautiful than they really are in reality. For example, when I was in Iceland, I was inspired to go out and see the northern lights because of some photos I had seen on Instagram. The photos on Instagram were bright and colourful but, I very quickly learned that that was not a reasonable expectation. The northern lights are truly amazing, don’t get me wrong. More often than not, you need perfect conditions to see anything that remotely resembles the photos I had seen online. My point is that social media can be a useful tool, it is not perfect. Certainly, it should notbe the only reference point you should use. Simply a tool to help you find inspiration and discover beautiful things or places Have you ever used Instagram to find inspiration on where to travel? How has social media impacted your traveling experience?
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Hi Michael,
I agree that social media is both a great tool and a NOT so great tool for travelling. I’ve always been inspired to visit beautiful places like Ireland from personal interest but also from pictures and videos I’ve seen online of other peoples travels. It’s a fantastic resource to learn about events and where to stay or eat but like you said, a downside is that hidden gems may not stay hidden. What a world we live in!
Thank you for the reply Dania! I hope you have the chance to travel at some point and see all the beautiful places you’ve discovered online.
I do agree as well that social media can be very useful for finding different places to go while travelling but as you stated above you never know if it is highly edited or not. I think a combination of social media postings and reviews and articles through a google search can cover all your bases. People can post a picture but some who write full reviews and also give more context. One thing I use is google maps to see where I am staying and what places are close to me. They have a street view of buildings so you can see what shops and restaurants look like without worrying if it is filtered or not. It is also a really hard double edge sword with hidden gems because even though they don’t stay hidden, you would have never known about them if someone did not post about it on social media. A very useful tool!
Thanks for the reply Dan! I agree it really is a double edged sword.