Scrolling through someone’s Instagram feed in 2019 is like watching an endless travelogue. Scenic #throwback photos, filtered mountains or beaches, and of course posts with the infamous hash tag- wanderlust. Overused captions such as “Mountains are calling and I must go” are used as faux inspiration. Recycling and reusing pictures from your trip to Leh in 2016 is sad, we understand. But that doesn’t mean you can use it as an excuse to pack your bags and just leave for the mountains. No Kabir, they’re not actually calling you. Here’s why “wanderlust” has become nothing but a fancy form of peer pressure.
We’re Travelling For New Pictures On Instagram
Image Credit: Unsplash.com
Gone are the days when the purpose of travelling was to widen our horizons or to get a detox from life’s endless problems or to drown in the bliss of nature or to soar up high in the clouds at a hill station. Trips are supposed to bring a renewed sense of life in you. Meet new people, experience a new culture, discover the history of an entirely different region, and feast on a differently tasty food. That’s what travelling was originally supposed to be. But today, all we do is dress up, strike a pose, visit Instagram-worthy locations and cafes to post, post, post, and post.
Filmy Expectations
Image Credit: Movie – Ye Jawani Hai Deewani
She, in her white flowing gown by the beach with him in his linen trousers, the “it couple” you follow on Instagram fool you into believing that you’re missing out on “the beautiful feeling of love”. It takes at least 15 takes to get a perfect picture that would make your social media followers jealous. We often find our friends shaping up the “ideal friends trip” to Spain based on the movie “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”. Or maybe even plan to trek to the icy Manali hills after a rerun of Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. Before you set off on an adventure like that, Google how much walking is involved. Deepika and Ranbir didn’t really have to walk up with blow-dried hair and short skirts on a mountain. You even have to be medically fit to be eligible for advanced treks. Not all that rosy and fun as you’d imagined, is it? If you are really passionate about travel and adventure, you would be thorough with these details. A hash tag doesn’t cut it.
“Adventure” Junkies
Hitchhiking seems like fun on Beg Borrow and Steal but that lady has a camera crew with her. You might end up on a lonely road in the middle of the night with nothing but trucks passing you by. Televised travelogues shouldn’t be your inspiration. They’re barely realistic. If you’re planning on skydiving, paragliding or even setting off into the woods to become the desi Bear Grylls, just remember even that show comes with a camera crew too. Your adventure must be complimented with passion, real passion. Travel not to copy something you watched, travel not to fill your social media with pictures, but travel to feed your own hunger for adventure! Only then will you truly enjoy this.
Let Travel be a practice people do out of innocent excitement and passion. Do not make it a materialistic stint of showing off. #Wanderlust is taking out all the joy from the essence of travelling. Such is the double-edged sword of being a Traveler in 2019.
