I’m worried …

Our family will soon head off on a 35 day adventure in Europe. We will visit UK, Netherlands, France, Italy and Croatia.  The spreadsheet I am using for my planning is a work of art, if I don’t say so myself!  The carefree backpacking days of my youth, where I’d arrive in a country and spontaneously choose a hostel and my daily activities, are now a thing of the past.

Nearly thirty years, three extra humans, the internet, and a worldwide pandemic have totally flipped my travel game upside down! Three beds are harder to source than one, hotels, hostels and AirBnbs are all readily available with a click of a button and attraction tickets are almost always dated, timed and have limited entry, often I’ve had to schedule a reminder to be online the precise minute tickets go on sale to secure the date and time that suits our itinerary.

The internet has not surprisingly been my BFF whilst I was mapping out this adventure, the plot twist was that Instagram and TikTok have sneakily joined the journey too! As a very visual person, I’ve spent hours scrolling short reels with packing tips, travel hacks, restaurant suggestions and destination ratings. Social media influencers have quite literally influenced our itinerary. Which brings me to the topic of photos and content!

Back in what my kids refer to as “ancient times” (1996/7), I worked and travelled Europe for 18 months, and all I have to show are 101 printed photos (yes I counted). The brochures, ticket stubs, and other keepsakes I lugged around from home to home in dusty boxes for years have all since gone to landfill.

After drowning in a sea of content while planning, my mind is blown by the endless stream of photos and videos travellers are churning out nowadays.

Let me expand on why I’m worried about how many travel photos I’ll have when I haven’t even packed a suitcase.

Last year Rise Above Research forecasted the total of photos taken globally would reach nearly 1.6 trillion by the end of 2023.

The sheer volume of photos we are taking, means the ones that truly matter are getting lost and forgotten in the mess. Current photo taking habits are de-valuing the photos that really matter.

Let me say that again so it sinks in. The massive amounts of content we create is causing the important photos to be overlooked and lost in the chaos. Current photo-taking behaviour is diminishing the value of the truly significant photos.

There is plenty of research within the education sector on this topic, but consider one study on memory recall function, which sent two groups of students into a museum. One group was told to take as many photos as they liked, the other group were not allowed to take photos. Both groups were then given a short test to see what they remembered seeing. Can you guess which group performed better on the test?

My strong desire to capture incredible photos to share with family and friends is undeniable. However, I am acutely aware and concerned because I want my children and I to cherish our holiday memories and not let them fade away easily just because we are preoccupied with creating and posting content.

How will I actively attempt to ensure we lock our travel adventures into the core memory vaults?

Studies have proven that the synapses of the brain and memory perform recollection functions better when all the senses have been engaged.

My plan? Hopefully a simple one to execute, is to be mindful and present in each new location.

I will stop and take a moment to engage all five senses and ask myself;

what can I SEE?

what can I HEAR?

what can I SMELL?

what can I TOUCH?

what could I TASTE?