Some people believe that social media contributes to the outdoors. But, some think social media is bad for the outdoors.
Wait, what? Social media is bad for the outdoors? That’s absurd!
Outdoor recreation is on the rise. Let’s take the US as an example.
Based on 2021 Outdoor Participation Trends Report by Outdoor Foundation, outdoor engagement was growing constantly in the US from 2013 to 2020.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there were 160.7 million Americans aged 6 and above engaged in outdoor activity, which was 7.1 million more than in 2019!
It’s not surprising to see the growth at all. I mean, let’s look at any one of the social media platforms.
There are so many overwhelming, gorgeous photos and posts. Users share among each other. They depict the fabulous side of the outdoors. – That’s what makes the outdoors attractive!
So, why do some people think social media is bad for the outdoors? – If you think about it, you get what they mean, too.
Some of the reasons are so relatable to us even we are totally unaware of.
So, let’s explore these 6 reasons why social media is bad for the outdoors.
1. Distort purpose
You love the outdoors. That’s why you join those outdoors activities that you like, eg. hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, etc. And you feel proud of it.
That’s the AUTHENTIC purpose.
But, in reality, is that true for others as well?
On social media, we share our photos and posts. After that, we constantly check the number of “LIKES” and “SHARE” of our posts. – If we get tonnes of LIKES and SHARES, we are thrilled.
Thanks to social media’s user-friendly functions, these make sharing of info and post really fast and easy.
This further motivates us to share more photos and posts because we crave this INSTANT boost of our mood. This makes us feel great.
So, you can see there are tonnes of AESTHETIC outdoor (mountains, beaches, cliffs, etc) photos and videos on social media. And you can see crazy amount of LIKES and comments.
1.1 What does this mean?
Right now, you might wonder: “do they truly enjoy the outdoors?” Or “do they take outdoor photos or videos for the sake of social media?”
Well, they could be either one or both.
A recent article studied the sharing of outdoor photos through Instagram. Participants, which are outdoor lovers, were interviewed. As part of the study, they were required to discuss three posts:
- The most recent outdoor image posted
- Post that received most Likes
- Their own favourite post about the outdoors
After the study, the researchers noticed that the participants were aware of the personal purpose of using Instagram (eg. sharing with friends or family, for memories, etc).
But, the participants were also aware of certain activities or place could be “Instagrammable”. So, they believed their Instagram use consumed them.
Some even thought of ending their Instagram use due to the invasiveness to the outdoor experience.
1.2 Is the purpose authentic?
It isn’t a one-size-fit-all answer. Obviously, it depends on how people use the social media.
But, let’s ask yourself these questions:
- Would you still enjoy the outdoors without posting and sharing on social media?
- Would you enjoy the outdoors without taking photos or videos?
- If you are an influencer, would you still enjoy the outdoors even without income or Likes from the posts?
- Are you a FOMO person? – Meaning, you can’t miss going to the popular places.
I confess. Social media is great to enhance our outdoor experience. But, once we are addicted to posting and sharing on social media, our purpose is no longer authentic.
2. Unprepared
Any places or activities that come to your mind, you can SEARCH them right away. Then, you get loads of info and posts right away.
Besides, all social media platforms are smart. Even if you don’t search anything at all, they’ll suggest relevant posts to you. – It’s like magic, because these are the contents that you love to watch!
How do they do it? Well, they have ALGORITHM. Despite the algorithms of each platform differ, they serve the same purpose. – ie. to provide contents that users love to watch.
Hence, we are exposed to various new places or activities to explore. We want to attempt them before they get popular, so we have the 1st hand experience. – And of course, to share on social media after that.
But the truth is, the info might be INCOMPLETE. And because we are so used to getting info right away, we accept this wholeheartedly.
Worse thing is, we might not even bother to do research before attempting. And this makes us unprepared for the adventure.
2.1 What’s the impact?
Basically, we are vulnerable to risk and uncertainties.
For example, you’d notice some hikers wearing improper hiking gear in day hikes. Or, attempt rock climbing without having proper skills. Or, go caving without knowing the cave condition……
Even worse, getting lost in the woods.
Well, it’s not the fault of social media, and the users should be blamed on that.
Nonetheless, these contents arouse users to attempt these, regardless of whether they possess relevant skills or knowledge.
3. Misleading information
Humans are visual animals. We perceive what we see.
Besides, we are living in this INTERNET era. We can get whatever info right away. As mentioned above, we even assume the info on the internet is correct.
Hence, we might not take effort to verify it.
For example, a post that is related to hiking is regarded as “easy hike”. So, everyone would truly believe that hike is EASY.
The truth is, that post could be written by a pro hiker. Then, the meaning of “easy” could be different from others, especially beginners.
But, the beginners might be over-optimistic. In the end, they might suffer because the toughness is beyond their fitness level.
Or, we are too mesmerized by those aesthetic outdoor photos. But, we might not realize if the photos are over-edited. Some of them are photoshopped to great extent. – So, these photos are deceiving.
And this makes the photos AESTHETIC. And we believe the scenes are REAL.
So, this creates a huge gap between expectations and reality. Guess what. We are disappointed when we find out the truth.
Have we not seen those gorgeous photos on social media, we won’t bother to explore.
4. Overcrowding
I like to search for hiking posts and photos on social media. Whichever hikes that intrigue me, I’ll hike someday.
I’m not alone as I believe many people out there are also the same.
If you think on a grand scale, this can create huge crowd to certain places in the outdoors. And that explains why social media contributes to the growth of outdoor recreation industry.
The sudden surge of crowd leads to overcrowding. Seems like good news for tourism, huh?
But, it might not be the case.
4.1 How bad is overcrowding?
Do you know where we can GEO-TAG the location in our posts or photos? Thanks to that, audience knows the exact location of the places. And this makes their visit much easier.
Because of that, visitation skyrockets.
In this article, the author, Haugen states that geotagging increases vehicle and foot traffic, which leads to environmental degradation and wildlife encroachment.
Some organization even asks people (especially influencers) to avoid geotagging, especially a campaign of the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board in 2018.
According to a 2014 report by Simply Measured, geo-tagged Instagram posts receive 79% higher engagement.
So you know how powerful geotagging is, right?
In fact, this hurts “Leave No Trace” principle. The more people visit the trails or National Parks, the more damage it creates.
It is a common issue. Sometimes, you could see a lot of TRASH on those popular trails. Worse thing is, VANDALISM happens, too.
Well, they come because they saw these trails on social media. But, they aren’t the ones who like the outdoors. – They wouldn’t damage the outdoors if they love it, would they?
5. Lead to injuries or deaths
Seriously? How does social media lead to injuries or deaths?
It is not direct. But, let’s think about it.
We take photos or videos and post them on social media. If we get tonnes of Likes and views, we feel that the posts are successful.
Or, if the posts go viral, what would you do?
Surely you want to make similar posts that attract people or grab their attention. So, you posts need to be OUTSTANDING.
And to be outstanding, this could involve certain STUNTS or dangerous move in the photos or videos.
That’s the tricky part. We can be clouded by FAME despite the risk.
And guess what? Some people hurt themselves or died when taking these outstanding aesthetic photos or videos.
According to a study published in Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, there were 259 deaths while taking selfies from October 2011 to November 2017. The reasons included drowning, transport and fall from high position.
FYI, the study didn’t include selfie deaths in some developing countries. Meaning, the actual death could be much higher.
5.1 Is this caused by social media?
So, what do you think?
Even though social media doesn’t cause these directly, but it does have some sort of INFLUENCE in it.
The moment we crave Likes and Share, and hope our contents go viral, this can upset our thinking.
When this goes too far, tragedy happens.
Thank about this. If we take photos not for Likes and views but just for personal use, will we risk our life to take dangerous aesthetic photos?
6. Discourage going outdoors
Whether we truly love the outdoors or for the sake of taking photos or videos, social media helps encourage outdoor activities.
And social media discourages going outdoors? Seems don’t make sense at all.
You see. Checking on social media becomes our habit. This has imprinted in our lives.
Whether we are aware of this or not, we constantly swipe our phones. Even when we are busy, we still manage to find time do this.
So, we spend more time checking on social media and create less time for other activities, such as reading, outdoor activities, etc.
6.1 Do you know how much time we spend on social media?
Based on Statista, the global average social media usage in 2019 and 2010 was 145 minutes per day. And since this is an average usage, some users in other countries could spend more than that.
The truth is, this is so relatable to us. Meanwhile, we complain where we are busy and don’t have time to work out.
But, once we get back home from work, the first thing we do is to take out our phones and check on social media. – And swipe aimlessly.
Imagine if we get rid of this social media checking, we have extra 2 hours every day. And we can use that to jog, walk in the park, ride a bike, etc.
Final thought: social media is bad for the outdoors
I won’t deny where there are more people going to the outdoors, thanks to social media. And hence, the industry keeps growing.
In fact, many users utilize social media to promote the outdoors. To me, this is the ideal way of using social media.
But, social media is bad for the outdoors once it starts to consume our lives. – Which, in fact, is happening.
Albeit social media promotes info sharing, some people tend to share info to crave Likes and fame. – And this is not healthy.
Not only does this mindset impair our judgment, but also damages the outdoors.
Hence, BALANCE in using social media is the key. While treasuring the perks of social media, we should also think before we act, so we don’t harm the outdoors and ourselves.
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