Of all the innovations that the internet has brought us, perhaps the greatest is online photo viewing. Remember the days when you would have to trudge through 200 photos of your friends and their families lying by the pool or getting sloshed in a bar at a non-descript Greek resort? You’d nod politely and make the right sounds of appreciation, but your eyes were constantly focussed on the number of pages left to endure, wondering if the torture would ever end. It was like being in school and waiting in vain for the bell to ring.
How many photos was enough? For the viewer 20, 30 at a push would have given a good enough insight into our friends’ holiday. Instead we sat through what felt like hundreds, each one accompanied by yet another ‘hilarous’ story. It’s so much easier now, when we are sent a link or see pictures appear in our Facebook stream. We can look when we want, if we want and most importantly at the speed we want.
So being a bore with our photos should be a thing of the past. But what about our stories? I have to admit to my guilt on this in the past. Fortunately Sam has quickly picked me up on my over-indulgence and reined in my exhuberance in sharing our travel tales with all and sundry, and I now find I test the ground before talking about travel, as the fact is that many people simply aren’t interested.
It’s a common scene to hear people engaging in a contest of reeling off the places they’ve been to, each one seemingly trying to out-perform their peers. We started our travels at a relatively young age, but it didn’t register with me at first that in these travel bragging sessions, most of those taking part often had children who were our age. When I joined in this point was not lost on my ‘competitors’.
At 25 I was understandably excited about having returned from Africa or S America and felt it normal to share this with whoever would listen, and those who wouldn’t. It’s only as the years passed that I gradually learned to enjoy our adventures and mishaps by ourselves and between ourselves, and not feel the need to bore my work colleagues and neighbours with stories that to them are likely to be irrelevant and uninteresting.
The world of online social networking has opened up a whole new area for travellers to share their passions. We can blog incessantly about our travels, and those who come across our ramblings can choose whether to spend their time reading it or not; the writer will never know unless the reader expresses an interest, and that’s surely the best solution all round.
The size of the groups with which we can share stories has expanded too. Beforehand, relatively few would have been truly curious to learn the ins and outs of a trip to Malawi for example. Now, the chances are very high that if I write about a trip to that country I’ll soon hear from others who are planning their trip there or who have recently returned, and we can communicate with genuine enthusiasm about our shared interest.
The online travel community has brought about many changes, but perhaps one of the most understated yet most important benefits is for our non-travelling friends. We have a ready and limitless audience with whom to share our stories and compare our lists. No longer do we have a excuse to inflict our travelogues on the unwilling.
Haha For the most part I have learned to keep my travel adventures to myself, but recently its been hard for me not to talk about last year’s trip to Antarctica. Getting to Antarctica was hard work (saving $$$) and being there was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
It’s true though, most people just aren’t interested. I fell off a roof about three weeks after Antarctica, while traveling in Argentina, and after fifteen months I’m still recovering from a shattered arm and a head injury. At a bar or over dinner when those two experiences come up, Antarctica or the fall, people always want to talk about the fall and I find myself thinking Forget The Fall, I Went To Antarctica, ANTARCTICA!
Most of the time when I travel I do volunteer work with different public health initiatives. I’ve found that socially conscious people who are interested in public affairs, health or development, who haven’t traveled much, are usually most interested to hear me talk about the orphanages in Asia and Africa or the difference in culture between Eastern and Western Europe. In the travel community we seem to enjoy one-upping each other, or I am just one of 1,000,000 who has traveled to Argentina.
Thanks for a great post, I love the last sentence!
Thanks Jackie. I guess it’s a question of relevance – for many people they are more likely to fall off a roof than go to Antarctica. So that story strikes a resonance with them. If you want to share your Antarctica stories you’re welcome to share them here
I had a look at your blog by the way, and enjoyed reading your posts. Sounds like a tough time with the accident. Stay well!
Great post Andy.
What annoys me the most is not the retelling of the stories, but the snobbish attitude by some that if people are not interested in their travel stories, they must be ‘closed minded’ or ‘jealous’ or some such. Well, no, maybe they are just not interested, as they potentially would be if I talked to them about other things that interest me or that I have done, like Opera, or letterpress, or hiking. One of the great joys of a society is that everyone is different, so why should everyone be interested in the same thing. You may feel that travel enriches you, and I believe it does, but some people seem to take it one step further and think it makes them superior, and look down on those who don’t share their view. My advice – lighten up!
(BTW – ‘people’ is not referencing you Andy! I love your attitude).
that’s so true about having a willing audience! i love hearing travel stories because i dream of going there someday and/or compare places that we have been to. but there are friends who couldn’t care less much like me caring very little about motherhood, so i understand, haha!
and because of the internet and online communities, i found new scuba diving and travel buddies! 
Excelent post. When I started travelling (2004) I used to talk to everybody about it, and it was frustrating the feeling that no one would care, or some even acted as if I was just been snob. But that´s ok – today I only talk about travel to those that ask or that I know love it.
And since love reading travel stores, I need to create my own blog to talk about it.
It’s true, I used to hate when, as a kid, my uncle brought out the slides from their last vacation. So boring. The downside of the today’s convenience is that we don’t get to experience the excitement that others might have at seeing the photos. Admittedly, this is a small group.
Thanks to all for the good debate. I’m glad I’m not alone
As many above have pointed out, our online travel community allows us to share our stories without burdening those who don’t want to know! As you say Natalia, we are all so different, and that’s a good thing.
Andy, I see alot of myself in the above post, with having done a great deal of travel in my early 20′s. Over the years I have realized that people who don’t travel, will not really have any understanding of the expieriences one has whilst on the road. When asked about my travels now, I really don’t get to engaged in the conversation, for fear or rambling on to much. That is unless it is with another who has travelled extensivly, and then I can sit for hours, swap stories and hopefully get some insight into places I haven’t been.
Thanks for your comment Jason. I think you describe a good approach. Speak sparingly until the other person shows a similar travel lust; then you can engage them in sharing each other’s tales.