That was then, this is now...
Hoards of these selfietards are making local folks life a living hell. Put yourself in their shoes instead.
July 17, 2023
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The rise of social media and its impact on selfie culture:
travel.earth/selfie-culture-impacts-meaningful-travel/
These selfie-gaze tourists see and experience the destination largely through their phones and the comments and feedback they receive on their posts. Hardly true travel experience in my mind.
Their satisfaction does not depend on the quality of the destination and experience, but on how well they manage impressions and attract ' likes' and positive comments. Vacuous visitors that are not there to really learn and interpret a sense of place. UGH! -
Well, with regards to selfies, alcohol is legal, and I'm thinking, as a percentage of people who drink vs a percentage of people who take selfies for likes, the death and destruction from alcohol is far, far worse.
With regards to doing dangerous stunts, motorcycle and car racing is legal, and the only difference between it and dangerous stunts is many get paid quite a bit for it. Climbing mountains, especially free climbing, base jumping, etc., are legal.
And, if you live in the US, guns.
So, honestly, I don't get the hate. There are so many others to hate on first. Unless y'all have enough time to hate on all of them. I don't, though -- just have time to hate on the people who cut me off and drive slow. I spend a lot of time on that kind of hate. 😁
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Not hate, I am sorry for the loss of life and the impact on his friends and family. The point is if you do very dangerous activities in this case illegal that risk your life for likes on social media you are being very foolish. There is no second chance or learning experience in his game one mistake and you are dead , as I say we all make mistakes { now and again 😀} As a lifelong teetotaler I agree about the folly of alcohol and the associated damage to the person and others
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Couldn't care less what individuals do to themselves if it doesn't affect me in any way. If some clown falls off a building, taking a selfie with his phone, it's no big deal unless it ties up traffic. It's not like there won't be another idiot to take his place. Cell phones are a marvelous emergency tool , unfortunately way too many emergencies are caused by people driving with an emergency tool plastered to their face.
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Obviously you didn't read above post
The rise of social media and its impact on selfie culture:travel.earth/selfie-culture-impacts-meaningful-travel/
These selfie-gaze tourists see and experience the destination largely through their phones and the comments and feedback they receive on their posts. Hardly true travel experience in my mind.
Their satisfaction does not depend on the quality of the destination and experience, but on how well they manage impressions and attract ' likes' and positive comments. Vacuous visitors that are not there to really learn and interpret a sense of place. UGH! -
Well, I read it now. 😁
Honestly, I don't see the problem. People want to travel, pose in front of famous stuff and snap a selfie? I don't care. From 2011 to 2017 there have been 259 deaths as a result of taking selfies? Gasp! I was a tad more concerned about the millions of deaths to Covid over just two years 'cause so many refused to social distance, wear a mask, and/or get vaccinated.
Now, what does bother me is things getting more crowded. Last time I went to Zion and Bryce (3 years ago?) there were no fewer than three Greyhound busses carrying tourists pretty much everywhere. I mean, sure, I'm one of the tourists, so, in a sense, I can't bitch, but three Greyhound busses unloading at one location at the same time?! I'll take a few people with selfie sticks any day over the week.
Now, as for the people dying, well, it's only 259 people over 6 years worldwide. Hardly an issue. Texting and driving is more dangerous (and annoying) by miles and miles. And, to be honest, I enjoy watching videos of a lot of those people doing the really dangerous stuff. My only objection is when they put non-participants at risk. Then again, given how I used to ride when I had a bullet-bike, I'm not the one to cast stones.
Honestly, the hate levied towards the selfie crowd seems far removed from their actions, per se. It's like those dumbasses who wear their pants around their knees -- doesn't affect me in the slightest, but I cringe every time I see it. But, like the "selfie menace", I don't encounter it very often, or, if I do, am not bothered by it enough to remember most of the time.
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Tourists taking pictures of themselves standing in front of something. Ya, sure. That’s is absolutely a new thing. Tourists never took pictures before 2005. Not once, ever.
There is nothing wrong with anyone taking pictures or themselves or anything else if that’s what they wish to do. And, to the point that they are missing out on meaningful travel, so what?
I too have read studies that suggest that any photographer purposely taking pictures of ANYTHING also does not experience the place the same as a person who doesn’t take images. Some studies have shown that ALL photography changes the experience (some for the positive and some for the negative). So, in a sense, ANY OF US who take a camera on a trip are also changing our experience.
If there is any issue here, it’s about over-crowding. And, of course that is instantly fixable by any locality that wish to fix it: limit tour buses by requiring permits and huge fees, limit ship dockings and greatly increase the fees, hugely increase public parking fees for non-residents, tourism surcharges on train fares for non-locals, huge increases in taxi fares for non-residents, restricted timed entry to venues, huge increases in entrance fees, huge increases in lodging fees, restriction on lodging permits, etc, etc.
When it costs $5,000 in fees to go visit some town in (pick a country)….. guess what? The crowds will be gone. And so will be most of the town’s economy but, if that’s what the locals want, have at it.
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There are two tourist town refrains I’m acquainted with. Both predate selfie culture by several generations.
Damn Yankees! Why can’t they stay home and mail us their money? (Feel free to replace Yankees with the tourist pejorative of your choosing, I present it worded as it was shared with me…for the record, I’m a “damn yankee” myself.)
Why do they call it a season if we can’t hunt and kill them?
The problems of tourism have been with us for a long time. Not helped by the fact that the general definition of a tourist includes anyone who moved here after I did.
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They are certainly working on that:
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro says his aim is to make tourism more sustainable in a city visited by 25 million people a year.
www.cbc.ca/news/world/venice-tourism-booking-1.6166137 -
Oh, but then you have these dorky doo-doo's
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Part of the selfietard scenario involves the phonetard scene as well. They encompass the insidious world of social media nonsense that perpetuates issues that are ruining peoples health in many ways. Watch this documentary if you get the time and you will understand better:
www.netflix.com/ca/title/81254224
" The Social Dilemma. The film features Harris and other former tech employees explaining how the design of social media platforms nurtures addiction to maximize profit and manipulates people's views, emotions, and behavior. The film also examines social media's effect on mental health, particularly of adolescents.[6]" -
Although previous research has recommended “no selfie zones,” barriers, and signage as ways to prevent selfie incidents, our results suggest this may not be enough, and it may be prudent to also engage in direct safety messaging to social media users.""
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“It’s true that compared with 10 or 15 years ago, tourists weigh a bit more,” Andrea Balbi, the president of Venice’s gondoliers’ association, told the Guardian at the time.
Pure gold. 😆
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