This paper explores the convergence between the communication of travel motivations and the emergence of new media uses among Generation Y (Gen Y) and suggests a convergence of travel profiles from backpacker to flashpacker, characterised by digital nomadism. It questions, is Generation Y growing up in the emerging digital sphere the reason for the changes to tourist motivations? How have traditional notions of travel motivations changed and is the proliferation of social media responsible for this change? The text draws on Bolton et.al (2013), to define the characteristics of Gen Y and highlights the works of Richards (2015) in analysing the differences between backpackers and digital nomads.
14 thoughts on “The Influence of Social Media on Travel Motivations”
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Hi Chanel, I found this conference paper very interesting to read. I like the comparisons you drew and I had a lot of moments where you brought clarity to the reasons why backpacking has changed with the digital age. I also thought it was interesting how you stated that the adoption of the internet has resulted in the “Peter Pan” generation. I’ve never thought too much about how it was all related until now. Great paper!
Hi Chanel,
I really enjoyed reading this paper as I felt I could relate to some of the theories and apply them to my own motivations to travel.
I have recently been studying how SNS can augment our relationship with physical location due to the geo-tag options, which I think could be another angle for travel motivations. We are able to be immersed in another location and form opinions based solely on these collectives of images/videos that are formed from geo-tags, which is similar to your point made discussing YouTubers and the travel advice they can provide.
Interesting read!
– Kelsie
Hi Kelsie, Thankyou for your comments!
Geo-tag options sounds interesting and definitely another angle i could consider. I would be interested in reading this study if you have completed it 🙂
Hi Chanel,
I really enjoyed reading your paper! As an aspiring traveler I thought you made some very interesting and valid points about how social media has influenced and changed how people travel. I really liked your statistics on YouTube and Instagram, it made me realise that I’m definitely a part of the 71% that searches for content on destinations.
I’m curious to know if you have any favourite travel bloggers or vloggers? I hadn’t heard of the ones you had mentioned and I’m interested in finding more. Great job on your paper! It was very fun to read!
Hi Briana,
Thankyou for your comments!
In regards to travel bloggers/vloggers it depends what you are into!
Jinti Fell is one of my favourite travel vloggers as she post content different from everyone else and is mainly around her travels in a van and around bali. Lost le Blanc is great because he has been everywhere! Another great one is Mike Corey (fearless and Far).
Enjoy 🙂
Hi Chanel,
Thank you for sharing your paper, i found it interesting and made me question a number of things i had never considered in the past!
One thing I would like to know is if there is a distinct difference between a tourist whom travels for pleasure and one whom travels for work? Also, how many more Gen Y’s are travelling and working in comparison to generations before? I’d be interested to know if Gen Y’s are working more overseas than our parents did… it seems like work and travel have always been a right of passage for Australians working in bars and cafes as opposed to online. Digitization now means we can “work around” tricky visa applications or having visa denied in countries we’d like to work from – something i had never thought of before!
Cheers
Jacinta
Hi Jacinta,
I think that within this digital age, travel for work and pleasure are merged. If someone is getting paid to travel for work and it actively posting about it on social media then they begin to display a sense of pleasure, regardless of their reasons for travelling. There has been an increase in travel bloggers or travel influencers since our parents were young, however there is definitely a decrease in more traditional jobs working abroad. This could suggest that with digitisation has brought new reasons to merge work with travel?
Thanks for your comments!
3 Hi Chanel,
I love the topic of travel and travel motivations! I have done quite a lot of travel and backpacking in my time and am a member of Gen Y. Social media platforms and digital nomadism really became popular during the years I was travelling (2011-2013). The push and pull factors you mention such as internal motivation, social interaction and the attractiveness of travel attract many to start backpacking across the globe. The utilization of Social media platforms such as Instagram for travel are extremely effective advertisements for tourism and travel destinations, appealing to anyone in search of a holiday destination. The difference with the backpacking scene now is that digital nomads can now live travel as a lifestyle, sustaining their need for travel through working online and using Web 2.0 platforms to generate an income as you mention in your paper. Becoming a digital nomad in my eyes is a now a realistic possibility thanks to digitization and convergence (Jenkins, 2004). I wonder what other opportunities the internet and Web 2.0 can bring for ‘flashpackers’ of the future?
Check out my paper and let me know what you think!
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2018Bentley/2018/05/03/living-longer-online-seniors-online-communities-and-web-2-0/
References
Jenkins, H. (2004). The Cultural Logic of media convergence. Of Cultural studies, 7(1), 33-43. doi:10.1177/1367877904040603
Hi Chanel,
Interesting read, I definitely agree that Gen Y has changed the way we travel and I thought you supported this point very well throughout your paper.
I had no idea YouTube was such a big factor in people deciding their travel destinations but it makes perfect sense now that I think about it a bit more. I personally follow a number of digital nomads across Facebook and Instagram and I’m always inspired by their posts to travel myself and to take better pictures!
Social media platforms are saturated with digital nomads today – why do you think some are so much more successful than others and how do you think they use social media to start from nothing and rise to online fame?
Thank you for sharing your article Chanel, I really enjoyed reading it!
Hi Sara,
I think that the saturation of social media platforms with digital nomads today is based around a few factors: the first being it’s evidently free. Travellers are associated with having little money, and as they are presented with a powerful platform that requires little to no cost, they would be silly not to take up that opportunity and grow their networks. Secondly, the success of some compared to others is based on their ability to create media rich content, which is why we have seen a downfall in travel blogging and a rise in travel vlogging. They use social media to start their rise to online fame by: growing their networks and following, collaborating with other more famous YouTubers, and again, ensuring their content is rich and engaging.
Hi Chanel,
I really enjoyed this paper! The point I took away from this paper was where you mentioned, that for Generation Y, “the ability to impress or influence a travel decision is becoming more
important than the experience and the physicality of the destination itself.” – I definitely agree with this statement, in that interaction on SNS is now solely reliant on likes/views/engagement that we as both the content consumers and the producers are becoming acutely aware of whether a moment or experience has social media worthiness.
As we document our travels more actively than previous generations or the original backpacker, I wonder whether we are more or less appreciative of our travel experiences? We live less in the moment, but make up for it in terms of successful social media content and subsequent engagement; but does that add or take from the experience of travel? Would love to hear your/others thoughts.
Cheers,
Teresa
Hi Chanel,
I really enjoyed your paper and I can tell that you definitely must have a passion for travel yourself. Flashpackers or these Internet “Gurus” or travel seem to Social Media Influencers in their own right within their niche community. I think it is an amazing way to live your passion and travel the world, I would definitely love a life such as these Travel Influencers had.
I definitely think that Social Media has allowed more people to capitalize on making a lifestyle out of a love of travel, however I wonder if traveling in general is actually more popular than it was before? Obviously it would initially seem so because of the pictures that everyone posts online, but to a degree I still believe there was a strong backpacking culture before the explosion of social media, but because we all weren’t ambiently aware of everyones’ lives we didn’t notice as much. Especially amongst young people coming out of high school and discovering themselves there has always been a strong backpacking culture.
I am just curious what you think about this, or if you found anything in your research?
– Danielle
Hi Chanel,
I enjoyed your article and found it extremely topical and appropriate considering the general age bracket of this conference belongs to Gen Y. Your focus lay within the domain of social media and networks and how ‘flashpackers’ and ‘digital nomads’ utilised these platforms, however I just wanted to see if you had any thoughts about whether they generate or facilitate any online communities? As you said the ability to impress via SNS is becoming more desirable than visiting the destination itself to Gen Y thanks to the influence of these travellers, it is interesting to think about the fact whether this phenomena is creating any online communities among these platforms.
Cheers,
Page 🙂
Hi Chanel,
What a great read. I particularly liked that you introduced me to the new concept of Flashpackers! I also was drawn to your arguments (supported by your Magill reference) that suggest that there are consequences to oversharing travel experiences online, which can possibly lead to missing out on the fun experience of the place you are actually visiting in search of online validation from social media friends. This is something I have been familiar with but have never thought there would be academic sources to support it. What a great find. I wonder if you think there are other consequences to oversharing travel experience online? Can negative online opinions of a documented travel experience also ruin the moment? For example, I often find on my Facebook page there is a strong backlash to tiger and elephant encounters in Asia. How can these negative posts affect the traveller and does this also apply to Magill’s argument?
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Cheers,
Anna