At present, there is a trend of many people visiting popular places to take photographs of themselves rather than enjoying the atmosphere and structures offered by those prestigious locations. In my opinion, I find it as a negative trend as it dilutes the value proposition displayed by those locations and pollution caused by the visitors.
Firstly, one of the main reasons for this behavioural change of travellers is due to the social media pressure they are facing from their family and friends. Everyone likes to upload their photos with a beautiful and popular background to grab their viewers’ attention. Furthermore, they intend to make these photos popular among their followers and gain more views to earn financial benefits as well. Some of the social media platforms, such as Instagram, provide financial incentives based on the number of views received for a post. Hence, people are tempted to take more attention-seeking photos rather than giving attention to the historical or cultural value of the location.
On the one hand, people forget the purpose of visiting the place and particularly to admire its natural existence or the value to the culture of the country. For example, most of the foreigners visiting Sri Lanka would like to visit the ancient cities of the country which have many religious places. While visiting these beautifully located natural locations they forget that these are sacred places of that country. For example, anyone visiting Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya at Anuradhapura, one of the ancient cities in Sri Lanka, which has the Bodhi tree that Buddhists pray—takes a photo standing in front of the tree which is considered as a disrespect for the sacred tree. But the people who are willing to capture the moments disregard this aspect and continue with taking pictures. As adults, people need to be more aware about these customs and sometimes these places have sign boards showcasing not to take such photographs.
On the other hand, when these places become crowded, they can end up with more pollution such as environmental pollution. For example, in Sri Lanka there are many stunning waterfalls flowing naturally from rocks. It is hard to reach such places as the roads to these locations are not developed to preserve its natural beauty. But, unfortunately when everyone went to capture their photo in such locations they all travel their and while reaching to the waterfall they put all the trash here and there. Hence, such actions of these travellers can cause harm.
I believe that while it is important to capture the moments to keep them as a memory, we need to be cautious about that particular location’s historical or environmental value. Therefore, visiting such famous locations only to capture your selfie is a behavioural trend which can harm the environment and undermine their value.