Somewhere along the way, we forgot why we travel. It wasn’t that long ago when a vacation meant disconnecting, immersing yourself in a new culture and embracing the unknown. Now, often, it’s just another photo shoot. Our social media feeds, especially Instagram, are filled with sun-kissed influencers perched precariously on cliff edges or lounging on pristine beaches, seeking the perfect shot to rack up likes.
But behind those filtered images is a less glamorous reality: over-tourism, shallow experiences and disrespectful behavior. The magic of travel is slowly being eroded, one selfie at a time. Let’s call it the “Instagram effect.”
A 2023 study published by Statista found that social media platforms, especially Instagram, have profoundly influenced travel behavior. More than 75% of travelers look to their social media channels for inspiration, and almost 50% travel to destinations to show them off on their feeds. That has led to crowds overflowing in picture-perfect spots like Athens, Venice and Bali, all searching for the perfect snapshot.
That influx, in turn, is creating what we’ve come to know as overtourism, where destinations are being loved to death. Streets in places like Barcelona are packed year-round. Residents in many places that were once proud to showcase their cities to visitors are now fleeing, and their home cities have turned into backdrop sets. In fact, in some locations in Japan, selfies are being banned altogether to curb unruly behavior. Santorini and other idyllic spots have imposed restrictions on visitors who trample vineyards and disrupt everyday life to get their perfect photo.
But it’s not just about crushing flora or clogging city streets. This obsession with capturing travel through a lens means people are often missing the bigger picture — literally and metaphorically. Travel used to be an experience of the senses, something that unfolded as you engaged with a new place, its smells, sounds and people. Yet today, a traveler is more likely to be glued to their phone, snapping photos of their every move, than connecting with the culture they’re in.
“Pulling your phone out almost instantly disconnects you from whatever setting you are in. It immediately demands your attention,” says Don George, a long-time travel journalist and editor at large for National Geographic. “When you are focused on shooting pictures on your phone, you miss so much of what’s happening around you. A selfie pretty much closes the door to a personal connection with people. It’s all about you.”
Instead of being immersed in a new culture, many travelers are more concerned about framing the perfect shot for their followers back home. This shift has affected more than just the traveler. Once the heartbeat of a destination, locals now feel like they’ve been reduced to mere props for Instagram. George says it best: “These are everyday human beings going about doing their thing, yet more people than ever seem to feel that they are props for their photos.” In other words, the cultural richness of a destination is often lost on travelers who are too busy posing.
The recent rise of influencers has elevated this trend to dizzying heights. It’s not enough for some to travel — they need to be seen doing it, often to the detriment of the place they’re visiting. It’s as if influencers have become pseudo travel agents dictating where their followers should go and what they should do. In doing so, they perpetuate the cycle of overtourism as others seek to match their experiences online.
While influencers are often seen as the main culprits, it’s not just them. Social media has bred a culture where everyone, not just those with millions of followers, feels the pressure to document every moment. We’ve all seen tourists perched precariously on cliffs for the sake of a selfie or those glued to their phones while standing in front of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
But there’s more to the story. While social media may damage how we experience travel, there are growing signs of pushback. A recent Washington Post article highlighted how younger generations, including Gen Z, opt for disposable cameras instead of smartphones on their travels. There’s a reason behind this shift. The deliberate limitations of disposable cameras force you to be present, to wait before you capture a moment and to think twice about the value of your photo.
At its core, travel is meant to be a transformative experience, one that leaves you fuller than before you embarked upon it.
The Problem With the Undying Conversation About the “Death of Venice”
Though fears over overtourism and climate change are real, it’s the loss of the city’s cultural identity that weighs heaviest in the minds of Venetians“Travel forces you to be present and deal with new experiences, not siloed off only focusing on getting the next picture but instead engaging with the environment you are in,” says Rachel Levitt, the managing editor of Fodor’s Travel. “I think that because we in Western cultures feel an entitlement to the places we travel to, we often unknowingly exhibit bad behavior (antagonizing animals, damaging historic structures, being rude to residents). It’s something we need to be aware of and act to change. Too often, it is exhibited in our obsession to get the perfect picture regardless of the people and places around us.”
We’ve reached a point where a significant percentage of tourists visit the same few destinations, clogging iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal, while vast swathes of the world go unexplored. According to a recent report from McKinsey, 80% of travelers visit just 10% of the world’s tourist destinations. The world is vast, yet we’re all obsessed with the same few places, thanks to the viral images that flood our feeds.
So, what’s the solution? It starts with intention.
“I think there is something to be said with the fact that everybody has a camera in their pocket,” says JoAnna Haugen, an ethical marketing consultant and the founder of Rooted. “Everybody can take the photos; everybody can share the photos. But to what end — why are we doing that and why does that have to define our travel experience? If you are going somewhere just to grab some photos and then leave, why go?”
This isn’t to say that photography doesn’t have a place in travel — it always has and always will. But there’s a difference between capturing a moment and letting the moment pass by because you’re too busy curating it for others. The true magic of travel is in those unfiltered moments that can’t be captured on the phone, let alone turned into a social media post. It’s in the interactions with locals, the spontaneous discoveries and the feeling of being in a place so different from home that it changes you.
Here are 10 expert tips on how to travel responsibly while still shooting some memorable shots.
- Show reality: Often, the stunning images that capture your attention online are not reality. Instead, they hide the crowds of people queuing to score their own human-free shot of an image they saw online. Haugen suggests posting pictures that show the reality of popular locations with chaos, crowds and trash to provide context to people looking at your feed.
- Captions: According to George, too often in our rush to post, we ignore one of the most important features offered in our social media platforms: the caption. Use it to turn your one-dimensional image into a three-dimensional adventure, building in a background to your shot and the people and places surrounding it.
- Go phone-free: George is a huge proponent of spending a day in a new place without your phone. It forces you to interact directly with residents and often leads you into unplanned adventures. If a whole day seems too much, start small. Leave it behind for a few hours or turn it off for half a day if you bring it along for emergencies.
- Research: Every individual I spoke to for this article stressed the importance of doing your research before heading somewhere. That means diving in deeper than someone’s post. Guidebooks, travel writers and online articles (Fodors‘ annual no-go list is a prime example) will give you a much more detailed picture of where you are headed, along with local customs, rules and a heads-up if they have any sustainability issues. Plus, visiting in the offseason is a boon for most spots.
- Obey local rules: There is a reason why localities post signs and impose rules on visitors. As guests in their homes, we should obey them and offer them the respect they are due. Don’t be that person who tramples someone’s flowerbed or hikes to the edge of the cliff, ignoring posted warnings.
- Ask permission: In today’s world, with the ability to instantly shoot an image, sometimes we forget that not everyone wants their picture shared with the world. Levitt suggests asking permission before you shoot pictures of individuals, especially children. It will go a long way towards cementing goodwill with residents.
- Rethink your geo-tagging: Just remember that it only takes one photo to change a place’s fortunes. Many experts argue that not specifically tagging a location can help keep a flood of visitors away. Haugen said that Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has been asking visitors to avoid specific locations and instead tag a general area to keep the pressures down on the wildlife and ecosystem.
- Go further afield: Everyone wants to see the Eiffel Tower; we get it, but realize there are 19 other arrondissements in Paris than the one where most tourists head. Go visit some of those to bring much-welcome spending power and experience a more realistic view of the city. Leavitt suggests applying this same mentality across the board and searching out the places where the crowds aren’t headed. The chances are high that you will shoot some amazing pictures and create your own adventure.
- You’re a guest: In today’s interconnected world, it’s often easy to forget that you are a guest in someone else’s home when traveling. Most of the biggest stories about lousy tourist behaviors come from people acting foolishly. When you are shooting a picture, don’t expect everyone to stop for you. George says always to remember that residents and other travelers are not there to cater to your picture-taking needs.
- Shop local: Make sure your dollars have a local impact. According to Dr. Lauren Seigel, a senior lecturer and researcher on tourism at the University of Greenwich, many tourists spend their money at international chains and shops, which leads to the money immediately leaving the neighborhoods where they are located. She suggests seeking out local businesses to ensure they reap the benefits of your visit.
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