A trip away is always a treat; it gives us time to relax, get away from
work and recharge your batteries. It's often frowned upon when people
spend a lot of time on social media while on holiday - but how much time
is too much?
A study from Expedia looked at 2,000 holidaymakers' social media habits
while away, and revealed that the average person on a week-long trip
spends a total of nine hours glued to a screen. Almost half of
respondents admitted to missing out on "vital holiday experiences" due
to using social platforms, and 44% said that social media had actually
ruined their holiday.
Is posting an hour-long Snapchat story of your sight-seeing day really worth
it, or necessary? While your friends may want to keep updated on your
exciting holiday, there is no real urgency, and photographs can be
posted and shared on Facebook, Instagram etc. once you've returned
home.
Three-quarters said they actually felt like they needed to post social media updates while holidaying, as well as check platforms through fear of missing-out.
It could be argued that it depends on the type of holiday an
individual is on, which can determine what an 'acceptable' time to spend
on social media is. A beach holiday is primarily for relaxing, so there
shouldn't be much harm in checking your feeds or posting a classic
'legs or hotdogs' photo while topping up your tan.
Spending a majority of the time glued to your smartphone on an
action-packed, sight-seeing city break could be deemed less-acceptable
upon due to the possibility of missing out on activities and
experiences. You'll be doing most of the sightseeing through a screen
when updating Snapchat or live-streaming - if that's the case, you might
as well be at home like your mates seeing everything through the
screen.
Social media use on holiday could also bring more stress than
relaxation, especially if you're chatting to work colleagues and get
sucked into the goings-on at your workplace. The whole
getting-a-break-from-work concept backfires and could defeat the whole
point of your relaxing getaway.
Are you glued to your screen while away? Or do you leave your smartphone at home?
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