Travellers told to ditch the selfie

Seven boys taking pictures making grimaces

You may have your phones at the ready for National Selfie Day on 21st June, but is it time for us to #DitchTheSelfie?

Oyster Worldwide travel specialists say the urge to take travel selfies is taking over from the true enjoyment and appreciation of the moment. And it’s not just these guys asking you to take time out from selfies.

Recently, the small picturesque Swiss village of Bergün put a full on ban on selfie-taking because they deemed the location too beautiful, and are disappointed that travellers are more interested in showing off their travel endeavours than being in the moment.

“Real travel moments are experienced in those moments when we pause to take in a view, listen to the sound of the waves or have a conversation with an interesting local,” Travel Adviser for Oyster Worldwide, Harriet Wray said.

“We are seeing a trend for people wanting to take as many selfies in as many places as possible. People are rushing from one spot to another trying to pack in as many selfies as they can, rather than taking the time to stop and look around”.

A global survey of over 1000 respondents conducted by the travel company gathered some interesting facts more about travel selfie habits.

The survey found that 51 per cent of respondents take one to 10 selfies during a one-week holiday, with 45 per cent sharing up to five of their selfies on social media.

Almost half of respondents claim that they share their travel selfies because their family and friends want to see them, while 10 per cent admit they want to show off to their social media friends.

34 per cent of those surveyed feel it is at least somewhat important for people to engage with their travel selfies on social media, with 35 per cent saying they feel happy when someone likes their holiday selfie and seven per cent admitting it makes them feel validated.

The younger respondents placed prominence on social media interaction, with 53 per cent of respondents aged 18-25 saying it was important or somewhat important that people liked their selfies on social media.

On top of this, 21 per cent of all respondents say they feel disappointed or embarrassed if their travel selfie doesn’t get any likes, while the number was again higher among the 18-25-year-old group, with 39 per cent of these respondents saying they would feel the awkward shame.

Friends taking a selfie in front of the Coliseum, Rome

With such emotions attached to travel selfies, it’s not surprising to see that a quarter of respondents feel pressure to obtain a good selfie while on holiday, and 15 per cent said they would be disappointed or upset if they didn’t manage to obtain a good selfie while on holiday or travelling.

Again the 18-25 year-old-respondents polled higher than average, with 35 per cent saying they feel pressured to obtain a good selfie and 33 per cent saying that they would feel upset or disappointed if they didn’t manage to get a good selfie while travelling.

“We think it’s time to ditch the travel selfie and get back to enjoying real travel experiences off-camera, which is why we’ve launched our campaign to ditch the selfie,” Harriet added.

Oyster will be launching their #DitchTheSelfie website on National Selfie Day, where you can join them in pledging to #DitchTheSelfie. The campaign comes shortly after a study which found that 40.1 per cent of millennials choose their holiday destination based on ‘Instagrammability’.

Travel selfies have also been hitting the headlines as tourists undertake ever more dangerous measures to get a show-stopping selfie – including selfies taken on top of cliffs, next to wild animals and in front of active volcanoes.

In April 2017 a Sacramento woman fell from a 60ft bridge while taking a selfie. In 2015 three college students in India died while trying to take a selfie next to a fast moving train.

Extreme and dangerous consequences like this are rare, however they are further evidence of the importance people place on gaining the perfect selfie, rather than spending their time truly engaging with their destination.

“People are spending their travel time taking and sharing selfies rather than really taking in the moment for themselves.” Harriet added.

You can find out more about the campaign, where you can also pledge your allegiance to the #DitchtheSelfie Movement if you feel that travel selfies have taken over from true travel experiences.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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