I’ve had the same conversation with multiple bloggers in the same week (Dany & Tim) and it made me realize it’s something I’ve been thinking about myself . Being an “influencer” or a “blogger” was once just normal people living their lives and talking about it on the internet. I started this blog when I was broke, paying my rent via Etsy and snapping outfit photos on a tripod in my street, and I think a lot of other bloggers have a similar story. Somewhere along the way there was a shift to these normal people suddenly traveling non-stop, taking pictures in epic locations and seemingly doing all of the same things on all of their own individual trips.
The big question mark in my mind is – What is more interesting – normal people sharing the nuances of everyday life that everyone can relate to, or extravagant people who travel and live lives of luxury non-stop?
I honestly don’t know the answer, which is why I wanted to write this post and open up the discussion. To me, these instagram accounts have sort of tainted traveling. They have created this idea that there’s a BEST way to see the world – eating staged food in perfect photo op spots, visiting all of the same locations and just generally white washing the travel experience, which is supposed to be unique and individual. I realized very quickly into our summer travels that I did not want my account to become similar to that. During our travels, we tried to visit places off-the-beaten path, and I tried to keep my feed consistent to the way it is when I am back home. Sure, we occasionally stopped in touristy places like Tivoli, but we tried to keep every photo personal, and we tried to experience things that maybe aren’t trendy according to the gram (like wearing a life jacket and whale watching). I enjoy following certain accounts because I like the person behind the account, and that person usually has a story far more in depth than just perfect photos in beautiful locations. I like a little bit of imperfection, and because of that I don’t go out of my way to shoot at odd times to get a perfect shot. Because life isn’t perfect!
Curating a feed is not a bad thing, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t do it. But when that curation begins to extend from what we wear, to how we decorate and trickle all the way down to the places we choose to see around the world, that’s where my line is drawn. We are all human, but we are also all so vastly different, and that should reflect in the way we choose to share our travel experiences!
What do you guys think about this new trend? What draws you to the accounts that you choose to follow?
