When Sharing Feels Showy: The Guilt of Posting Vacation Photos
I Want to Share My Vacation… But I Don’t Want to Make Anyone Feel Bad
Trippin’ is my happy place.
Want to hop over to the other side of the state for an overnight? I’m game! How does a 2,769-mile cross-country road trip driving a Kia Soul from Maryland to Washington State sound? Let’s do it! Interested in spending three weeks exploring Germany or Chile or Iceland or any other international destination? My passport is always current!
Some people spend big bucks on luxury handbags, BMWs and Bruce Springsteen concert tickets. Not me. My retirement savings are earmarked for plane tickets.
I also like to take photos of the places I visit. Lots of photos. Wide open prairies and craggy mountains. Castles, bridges, skyscrapers. Colorful sunrises and sunsets. Flora and fauna. Hiking trails. Beaches. Unusual door knockers.
Needless to say, I come home with hundreds of snaps on my iPhone. And without fail, I post a bunch of them on social media. Basically, my mobile phone photos become public property.
And then I feel guilty.
While I’m loving my trips and all the pretty pictures I take during those trips, I also worry about how those same photos might make others feel. Is that beach photo of tropical libation against the backdrop of the Caribbean Sea nothing more than thoughtless bragging? Is my online joy actually unkind?
Here’s what I do know: My ability to travel as frequently as I do is a combination of years of mediocre retirement planning and a bit of luck. Frank and I worked hard at our jobs for decades, led a relatively frugal lifestyle and built a nest egg targeted in part for travel. I truly appreciate and am grateful for the life I have today.
I’m also aware many of my friends and family members cannot do what I do. Some don’t have the financial resources. Others are still working full-time jobs, raising children or grandchildren, dealing with serious health issues, caring for elderly parents.
And yet I continue to post travel photos after each trip despite the risk of alienating social media friends and family.
Why? Honestly, I’m not sure.
It’s not like I’m a social media influencer whose online content rewards me with income or product freebies. (If you know anyone who’d like to send me on an all-expense paid photo safari to Africa or wants to supply me with merino wool shirts in return for online mentions, you know where to find me.)
Could it be that I simply crave public validation and all the feels that result when someone adds a thumbs up or heart to one of my photos? The dopamine hit social media users experience with new likes, new comments and new followers is a real thing, according to researchers. I hate the idea that I’ve possibly succumbed to an addictive feedback loop.
Or maybe it’s the wannabe travel guide in me bursting out of her suppressed shell? If I’d had a different career path, I suspect it would have been in the travel business. I can spend hours going down online rabbit holes as I decide where to go, the best way to get there, what to do and eat once I arrive, and which places are worthy of overnights. I’d like to think that sharing the info I’ve discovered and experienced in real life is of some value to someone.
And then there is the entertainment angle. I enjoy scrolling through travel pictures posted by my social media connections. I’m curious about where they’ve been and what they’ve done. I especially appreciate the artistry of a well-composed, beautiful photo. Again, I’d like to think that a few of my Facebook and Instagram peeps are as entertained by my pictures and travelogues as I am by theirs.
One final concern is that my posts may be a tad misleading. Too curated. As mentioned earlier, I take a lot of photos, so the ones I ultimately share are the best of the best. They represent, for example, the most spectacular views and the craziest parts of the trails I’ve hiked. Any shots that include me guarantee a head held high (no double chins, please) and a wide smile. What my Facebook friends don’t see is how grumpy and unpleasant I am after a sleepless nine-hour overnight flight, how miserable I was hiking in freezing rain or how much the leftover rank odor of an unwashed wet dog permeated that adorable Airbnb in the mountains.
So my conundrum comes down to a bunch of questions for which I have no answer: When I post travel photos, am I delivering information and content that’s interesting, useful, entertaining and/or realistic, or am I simply satisfying my own ego at the expense of others’ feelings? Is it possible to share happiness without showing off? Heck, if I don’t post it, did it even happen?
I can’t wrap this up with a neat conclusion, but I do know this: The questions themselves are pushing me to pay attention. And for now, that’ll have to do.
I’d love to hear how others are navigating this. How do you feel about sharing vacation photos – or looking at others’ photos – on your social media feeds? What is your vacation photo etiquette?