| Because for some of us, it is a means of self-expression. When I travel, I take lots of pictures and write travelogues about the culture of the place, and about the unusual things that might surprise me or my friends on social media. I also often try to engage with people in the local language (I usually start cramming with spaced-rep apps 2 weeks before the trip), so it's a linguistic journey as well -- I write about conversations too (that said, Basque was very difficult and nobody cared that I tried to speak it. No luck engaging in Catalan either, most folks just switched to English. But Korean was helpful in Korea, as was Portuguese in northern Portugal). The pictures I take are not of umbrella drinks or beaches, but of local people doing their thing. I take pictures of subways and the little details that reveal the systems-thinking behind the subway system (which differs all over the world). I take pictures of pieces of technology that are localized to the domestic culture and reveal the way people interact with physical objects (Japan had so many gems). I almost always go on a walking tour so I also get to document the history that I learn along the way -- seeing physical spaces are great, but with a walking tour you also get the time dimension through storytelling. My social media posts are an invitation to my friends to see a world that they've not seen. I often travel alone, so writing about my experiences and explorations helps me feel like I'm sharing those experiences with my peeps back home. It also helps me feel less lonely -- yes, one makes friends on walking tours but those are fleeting and you never ever see them again. The most gratifying interactions on social media aren't the likes but the comments that start with "what's that?". Telling stories on social media also helps hone your storytelling skills. I once took a course in flash fiction (i.e. really short fiction) writing which was nice and all, but the real test of flash writing is in telling stories on social media where you have to get and keep people's attention with words and pictures within the constraints of a single post. It really depends how you do social media. Done right, it can be extremely gratifying and can elevate the experience of travel. (there's nothing wrong with the performative aspects of social media if you know what you're doing. Take Anthony Bourdain -- sure, he was making a TV show (trying to get the TV equivalent likes as it were) but he also portrayed cultures with an artistic sensitivity that none of the other chefs had. Gordon Ramsey for instance goes to a country to show the locals how he can cook better than them...) |