Let me tell you a secret – I definitely thought that putting some glam pictures against the gorgeous landscapes across different settings will make me really popular amongst my friends! 🙂 I was a kid then! Ever since self-realization struck that social media is just not meant for bragging about my personal life and how happening it is, I stopped posting ‘big Facebook albums’ – especially ones related to my holidays. It can be really annoying for some people to see pictures of your minute details popping up on their screens!
In fact, a German study has also established that holiday pictures and posts on Facebook cause an unprecedented level of envy, which makes others feel unworthy and inadequate. If you go by some people’s Facebook lives, then you’ll subject yourself to severe exaggeration and unrealistic embellishments. As per the study, not just holiday pictures, but even pictures from weddings, physical attractiveness, and success have the potential of emotionally ruining a person. However, 56.3% of Facebook envy is caused by vacation pictures.
I am 26; I have 400 Facebook friends, but only a handful of them are really close to me, who would genuinely like to know about my experiences. They won’t wait for me to upload an album to get details about my holidays. And then they will talk to me about the fun we had and even the stressful moments if we had any.
No one puts pictures about the hard times they had during their journeys. No holiday is perfect – it teaches you something or the other. Like on some vacations, you might not find the food of your liking, on some, you might lose your luggage, and on others, you just might get a tick bite. Sadly, no one talks about the downsides of their adventures, which leave others thinking – oh, my god! We need to go there. That was just the most awesome holiday album I’ve ever seen! Happens with me too!
If you have been traveling all this while just for the Facebook covers and gorgeous albums, you better use your travel time for self-discovery. In fact, you can put those pictures as your laptop backgrounds and get inspired each day to travel to other new destinations. I myself, instead of uploading a gazillion of pictures in my Facebook account, choose to create an album for each holiday. Of course, I do share a couple of pictures from my getaways, but then that is again for self-satisfaction. (Suggested Read: How Travel Gives A Purpose To My Life And Why I Love It So Much?)
My point here is, go for vacations, act like a crazy, have fun, collect memories, click gazillion pictures, but do it for yourself. Don’t do it ‘ONLY’ for the Facebook pictures. Facebook shouldn’t be the only means of existence for you. Because eventually after some time no one will give a heed to your dead albums in the gallery, but it’s only you who’s going to cherish it for ages.
I don’t know how many of you might agree with me on this, and how many would loathe me for posting such a debatable article, but the fact is, there’s no need to live a life just for Facebook. Yes, post pictures if that really makes you happy, create albums, and spread joy amongst your friends who’d be honestly happy to see you exploring the world – something that everyone of us should do, more often. But don’t just do it for the social media! Once I stopped doing it just for the social media, I started to relish my travels a lot more! I no longer care if in some pictures I look a little ugly or in some my pimple is showing, I care only about the experience.
Do you have a habit of posting many pictures from your holidays on Facebook? Did you ever get jealous taking a look at your friend’s holiday pictures on Facebook? Well, you are not alone!
Great, interesting article! You’re absolutely right! Traveling is and should be more than “beautiful facebook pictures”.
Thanks Anca, I’m glad you agree. 🙂 We should certainly try to preserve more travel memories rather than worrying needlessly about how we look in the pictures just so to put the best ones on the social media channels.
You know what they say: if it ain’t on Facebook, it didn’t happen.
keep rocking – TT
That’s very true Prerna. I agree to a large extent…infact I myself unfollow people who posts too many pics, checkins and statutes.
ha ha.. Nice to know we share the same thoughts. 😀
It’s good to know that people are traveling but seeing hundreds of pictures being posted on social media handle from one particular trip gets too overwhelming. 🙂