In April 2024, I visited sunny Barcelona for the first time and was shocked by Antoni Gaudi’s surrealist architecture. I’m sure of that moment sunbathing under the stained glass of a church holy family, I forgot how to breathe. Later that night, as I was scrolling through my iPhone gallery, admiring the Instagram-story-worthy photos, a feeling related to shame took over my attention.
As I pored over the photos from the day, I was reminded of a friend’s caption on a photo of Gaudi’s iconic cathedral. This text message, a review of my vacation during the 2020 lockdown, reads: “If you let me travel again, I will never go to a mainstream monument.” Years later, I can’t see the appeal of a “mainstream monument.” ”So excited. 5 million visitors per year. So let’s drop that post. I love the nougat shops lining the cathedral’s exterior, but these are obvious tourist traps, so let’s not worry.
After 40 minutes of cool girl scrutiny and cropping, I selected photos of a retro concept store, a sandwich shop recommended by a friend, and a cactus garden overlooking the beach that few tourists know about. Satisfied, I posted the dump with nonchalant captions and random emojis, desperate to know “where is this”, “where are you?!” and the replies came flooding in.
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Success: I passed the non-mainstream tourist test. While this status makes me feel like a cultural bad guy, what does it mean for my relationship with authenticity? In an attempt to be seen (and recognized) as a traveler looking for “authentic” neighborhood gems rather than tourist hotspots, I lost sight of who I really was and started acting out things online that were not real. Instead of reflecting my real life experience, every story, emoji, and caption was subjected to a mental examination of, “Are the cool girls on the internet still using this slang?” or “Does this video seem nonchalant and aspirational?” , doesn’t look very hard?”
“Success: I passed the non-mainstream tourist test.”
My lovable self is so passionate and troubled What do others think of me? I can’t seem to differentiate between how I feel and what society accepts. Often, this process of elimination cannibalizes satisfying, potentially mainstream parts of travel and leaves behind aesthetic—albeit empty—remains. Sure, the article may look aesthetically pleasing, but it doesn’t feel good to stray from the real experience.
How did this need to over-plan vacations become the norm? First, Gen Z is traveling more than any generation before them. According to a 2023 survey, 52% of Gen Z adults travel frequentlyAlready on par with Millennials, taking at least three vacations a year. According to Hopper’s 2024 Travel Report, 63% of Generation Z in the United States Been obsessed with traveling over the past 12 months. In comparison, only 48% of baby boomers and 54% of Gen Xers go on vacation. middle global recession when dream Homeownership and financial stability remain precariousyoung people are Invest money in fast travel and experience. Additionally, the growth of dormitory culture and the part-time economy makes it easy for people to work remotely and travel on a smaller budget.
As a generation that grew up online, Gen Z has watched friends and influencers travel the world and take us along for the ride with TikTok- and Instagram-worthy videos of hotel tours or highlight reel events. Even before creator-led recommendations took hold, we relied on aspirational travel media—think of countless Lonely Planet lists of offbeat travel destinations, or TimeOut finding the under-the-radar before everyone else Tips for haunting places. This overexposure to content means that no matter how frequently you travel, chances are that someone on your social network has already been there and done that. This creates additional pressure differentiate our holidays Have a unique experience. (In fact, over the years, the pursuit of hidden gems promoted by social media has become so overwhelming that Popular online venues have begun banning photos, videos and influencers. Water guns in Barcelona anyone?
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“Now people are more impressed by content from surprising places they knew nothing about.”
“While a segment of young travelers are looking for more remote, off-the-grid places, they are still attracted to the world’s most famous cities and attractions. The two behaviors coexist,” said travel founder Jenny Southan ) Trend forecasting agency Globetrender, tells Mashable. “But sightseeing has become less cool now that everyone can stand in front of the Eiffel Tower, and we’ve become immune to those perfect sunset shots of familiar places. Now, it’s so frustrating that people know nothing about them. The content of the surprising place is more impressive.
Simply visiting a new country doesn’t automatically gain you social media clout, your vacation must also be noise-free. “People’s definition of social status is no longer directly tied to wealth, but to more complex symbols, such as hyperlocal knowledge. Individuals aspire to climb the social ladder by displaying their culture and expertise through symbols,” shared Zoia Tarasova, analyst and Ph.D. at Canvas8, a trend and insights agency. “Cultural capital has become synonymous with less spectacular experiences, such as a glass of absinthe in a trendy bar in Rome, known only to locals. As a result, people want to discover more hidden gems to elevate themselves in front of their followers Their social status is against posting about the Colosseum or the Vatican.
Discovery leads the way when it comes to our vacation destination choices. Expedia 2024 Travel Report It also points to a rising trend among Gen Z to explore “trick cities” or “hidden gem destinations” rather than traditional summer getaways – think skipping Santorini for Paros or skipping Lisbon for Palermo. Ashley McGough, Product Category Manager Travel fearlessly Also witness this shift towards off-the-beaten-path experiences. “With this change in mind, we reviewed all tours for the 18 to 35 age group last year to ensure they offer authentic activities at the best value. In Peru, we have developed a new tour program working closely with local communities The Quarry Trail is an alternative to hiking the popular Inca Trail, where they have the opportunity to meet locals and visit original Inca tombs that few tourists have ever seen (even though the locals are said to be famous for their efforts). People have no interest in becoming content material…)
London-based video editor Stacy Matthews, for example, still travels to big cities, but she specifically seeks out Airbnb hosts who live in the same location to provide a shared experience. This often leads to people trying out homemade dinners to try out an authentic taste of culture or get recommendations that only locals have. The 24-year-old recently visited Berlin for the first time and was fascinated by the history of the Berlin Wall. “I spent a few hours at the memorial and walked around the main attractions, which was very emotional,” she said. “But I only posted two stories about my experiences: Swarovski the musical “Falling in Love” There was also a really cool listening party that my host took me to at the Palace Theater in Friedrichstadt. This is for Charli XCX’s new album boythis is not something that everyone can experience when they go to Berlin, you know what I mean?
On my last night in Lisbon, I also avoided the highly recommended (but more touristy) TimeOut Market and instead decided to have dinner at Palacio do Grilo, a fine-dining restaurant where the staff double as abstract theater performers . At the time, I hated the interactive art between courses, the dark and eerie sounds made me uncomfortable, and paying too much for sad-looking food. But in my post-holiday dump, the restaurant and its gimmick were a huge hit. Of course, many people have asked this question, and although it is strange in reality, online, in a 16:9 box, this space has become a conversation starter.
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Living in society always involves some level of self-expression, even offline. Think of that shabby housecoat you’ll never wear when guests are over, or that guilty pleasure TV show you won’t talk about with your friends. But as we exist more and more online, it becomes increasingly difficult to know where the show ends and the real people begin. “Perception is becoming an important theme in therapy with young people. Now that we frame our experiences through the lens of external presentation, it’s much more difficult to figure out what we really want, rather than how we want it to appear,” explains existential therapist Eloise Skinner. “This puts us at risk for a fragmented identity. We lose sight of how we really feel and instead begin to see ourselves from an outside perspective and formulate choices that are consistent with that voice.”
I felt like I had a serious calling. In the constant pursuit of gaining halo points through seemingly authentic travel, we may have forgotten how to identify what we truly enjoy. After weeks of lying to the online world about what I liked on vacation, my memory seemed to be tarnished by Cool Girl Syndrome. Gen Z is so afraid of being seen as “cringe” that we would rather discuss how we feel about our experiences than come across as “arrogant.” In fact, this obsession with acquiring cultural capital through travel adds so much pressure to share a perfectly curated (but still casual, woke-like) dump that it threatens to eliminate the holiday Any relaxation and calmness. As cheesy as it may be, I should post those panoramic videos of the Sagrada Familia. Who cares if it’s widely accessible, it still amazes me.
