This is a collaborative post with Schofields Insurance.
I’m not even going lie, Instagram does influence my travel decisions to an extent. As someone whose second home is the airport, I admit I spend eternities scrolling through Instagram, reading blogs and creating Pinterest boards about destinations I want to visit. But sometimes it does feel like we’re all going to the same places. I mean, how many times have you seen a picture of the Eiffel Tower on your Instagram feed? I am guilty of posting a fair few of these too.
Read more: Musings: The Dubai Instagram Itinerary
Pictures speak a thousand words.
Whilst I may find solace from longingly looking at crisp white beaches, others may find inspiration from a bustling city scene. Schofields Insurance* recently ran a survey which has shown that for two fifths (40%) of millennials, how pretty a destination will look on Instagram is a major deciding factor in where they go. You can find out more information here.
It’s all down to preference. What might be aesthetically ‘pretty’ like the Eiffel tower to a fashion blogger is someone else’s ‘boring’. If you’re wondering, I’m SO over Paris…but it is beautiful…
It’s all about what travel means to you, how you like to travel and what photos you like to take. However, ever conscious that I am a child of the internet, social media does play a huge role in my life. Sometimes you can’t help but get sucked in, it’s definitely down to how you consume it. Consume or be consumed?
You may look at the aesthetically perfect shot but who knows how much went in to taking that photo? Or perhaps it was a lucky moment. We’ll never know. So even though Instagram may influence our travel decisions to an extent, it’s important to think about the bigger picture.
Read more: Musings: Things We Might Be Tired Of Seeing On Instagram
Travel for you, try to travel sustainably and don’t kill yourself trying to take the perfect Instagram shot. I’m pretty sure it has happened.
But whilst most of us cannot travel full-time, we can draw inspiration from Instagram for the moment until we are transported there ourselves. But sometimes do a little more digging before you book that trip. Don’t be tricked by a filter.
Read more: Musings: Why There Is No Right Way To Travel
Although I may capture the moment for Instagram, I need to remember what life was like before the Aden filter took over my life, before hashtags and worrying about getting at least eleven likes. We all had lives before hashtags, but if you’re ever truly bored, check out my hashtag on Instagram #trippinwithchar and just remember we all had lives before we started documenting them.
Char xo
This is a collaborative post with Schofields Insurance. Please note, some images have been sourced from Unsplash.
Soul Ethnicity says
Well said sometime we get caught up in capturing a pic and not experiencing it…thanks for this ☺
memoirsmusings says
Thank you SO much! We need to remember moments before we begun capturing them! Xxx
neeliev says
Cool idea for a post! Definitely feel sometimes like everyone’s going to the same destinations (or at least by the looks of it on Instagram) and I have to admit, it does influence you to a certain extend 😉
Chi-Chi says
This post is deffo food for thought…. i remember being in lisbon last year and seeing a girl at an ice cream parlour spend about 10 mins taking blogger pics of her ice-cream! I was like, “damn girl, eat the ting!”
My pics aren’t pretty, but they are true to my experiences and i hope that bloggers/ppl take pics true to their experiences too
Chi-Chi | http://www.lifeofchi.co.uk