Could you imagine totally disconnecting from the world as you travel? Wild, the popular memoir from one of my idol’s, Cheryl Strayed, and turned into a film with Reece Witherspoon as the leading lady, struck a chord with me.
The incredible aspect of this novel was not just her sheer grit and determination to complete a 1,000 mile trek on the Pacific Crest Trail alone, but the fact she did it without tweeting, instagramming or snapchatting. Not once (the internet was still in its infancy back then). And she survived. For those of us who feel lost when their phone isn’t within arm’s reach we could learn a lot from Ms Strayed.
It’s easy to forget how people travelled before smartphones. How we got through a flight without taking a photo out of the window as we sailed above the clouds or snapped the myriad of bright lights twinkling in the city we were about to land in. How we ate food from street carts, beach cafes or fancy restaurants without getting the perfect flat-lay first. How we passed the time on long journeys without checking in on Facebook, streaming Netflix or adding it to our Snapchat story.
Do you remember going into a hostel and not seeing people glued to their tiny (well, actually, ever growing) phone screens? When people lugged around weighty travel guide books, used crumpled paper maps and wrote things down on pieces of paper rather than e-books, Google Maps and smartphone notes?
Travel is the one time when we should relax, enjoy a change of scene and the opportunity to experience cultures different to the life we lead back home. But for many, there’s this digital thread that still connects us to our social media accounts wherever we are in the world.
Please don’t get me wrong - the internet, smartphones and technology in general has improved and simplified our travelling experience. I mean, we can now reserve flights, hotel rooms and restaurant reservations at the touch of a button, we can let our family and friends know we’re safe by facetiming or skyping, we can read up on reviews to avoid potential dodgy experiences, we can post envy-inducing Instagram pics and we can share our trips in an instant via email or blogs.
The internet also provides us with plenty of wanderlust inspiration. From magazine reviews of the place to go, tips and tricks to travel cheaper and safer, dreamily gazing at photos of the places you must see, all means you can basically travel without leaving your home. And here lies the problem, our holidays and city breaks are no longer time to escape and explore at our own pace, but a manic competition of taking the perfect holiday selfie, rushing through a to-do list ticking off the things you have to see and do before your flight home and recording it all for your followers and friends. FOMO in its finest.
Go on, admit it, one of the first things you do when checking into your accommodation is to scribble down the WiFi code? It’s like Walter White’s blue meth crack for the modern age. But worry not, it’s not just you who struggles to have a digital detox when you travel, other travellers can’t switch off either. I spent one New Year’s Eve at a Full Moon Party in Thailand and instead of dancing with blissed out free loving hippies, as these parties used to promise, it was a sea of selfies. The same goes for a Rio hostel I was in - I looked around at all these nationalities under one roof and every single person was on their phone or laptop. No one saw the Brazilian lady dancing by herself as some Portuguese love song played on the knackered radio, no one tried to interact with each other, no one asked for the recipe of the home-made dulce de leche cake we were stuffing our faces with; they were too busy tweeting than eating. They missed out on these foreign and unusual experiences because of technology.
As a travel blogger I make it my business to immerse myself in the culture and activities of the places I am in - yes, sometimes that does mean burying my head in my screen to record it all but I’ve made a conscious decision to be ‘in the moment’ more. To take more mental pictures, to appreciate the smaller things, not just if they come with a hashtag. I’m still working on this and I urge you to do the same. Many travellers, especially solo travellers, use their phones as a comfort blanket but if you’re constantly staring at your screen then you’re giving off signals that the virtual people in your hand are much more important than the real life ones opposite you.
When you travel make an effort to connect to the place you are in and not your life back home, that will still be there when you return. I’d love to know what you think! You can contact me at any of the places below or leave a comment on the blog!
(Text amended from an article I wrote for the Huffington Post UK)
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