'Selfie tourism' - AIBU?

[SunflowerPosers]

This weekend I went to a beautiful sunflower field not far from where I live (NC for this as don't want it to be too outing), and I just wondered if anyone else feels the same way as me or whether I'm being too judgey and unreasonable?

There I was with my little DSLR camera trying to get some nice photos of sunflowers, and I couldn't believe the number of people who clearly thought the place existed for their own personal photo shoot.

Women (of a range of ages, not just the early 20s 'influencers') all clearly dressed up, doing 'candid' poses (where they deliberately don't look at the camera for some reason), instructing increasingly exasperated partners to take 20 more photos of them doing very similar poses. People walking around with obnoxiously large 'selfie sticks' where they've got the camera trained only on themselves the whole time, rather than just taking a moment to put their phone down and be present.

Maybe it's my age, but I don't really get it, and just think it all looks so cringeworthy. Of course, I understand wanting to get one or two photos of yourself in a nice location, but some people seem to take it to an extreme level of narcissistic behaviour.

And it seems to be common at so many places now. Go anywhere pretty, and you can barely move for the amount of people with selfie sticks. I'm half convinced that a lot of people you see on walks are only interested in getting photos of themselves to show where they've been, rather than actually enjoying walking!

Apparently there's a term for this sort of thing that I wasn't aware of, selfie tourism. People who specifically go to a location to get the perfect photo of themselves, rather than appreciating where they actually are.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this is crazy?

I'm sure plenty of people think it's crazy.

I don't. I love it for them. If I felt I was pretty enough, I'd be doing it too. I'd go to so many places to take beautiful pictures to show myself off in equally beautiful surroundings and keep those beautiful pictures and show everyone.

And I'm sure many of the people who think it's crazy would do it too, if they didn't feel ugly compared to sunflowers.

It’s because they’re desperate to prove to others that they were Having Fun. I’ve just had one of the best weekends in ages and there isn’t a single picture on social media. We were all having so much fun that not a single person remembered to take a picture 🤷‍♀️

Why did you want to take photos on your own camera rather than just enjoying the moment?

Before selfies, there was speed-tourism. Go anywhere with a significant piece of art, eg La Pieta in Rome, and witness the tourist bus drop off, mad rush in, quick photo, and mad rush out again.

or concerts where people film the whole thing and look at their screen the whole time rather than the artist on stage.

we live in a world where things only happen if they are recorded on a phone …..

Photos should be for memories, not proof you were somewhere ‘grammable with duly photoshopped images.

Totally agree with you OP.

I find the way so many people now are obsessed with their own faces and bodies truly nauseating. They must be excruciatingly boring people when their only interested in themselves.

The sad thing is, many of the people aren’t the societal version of “pretty” in real life, yet the photos show them as size 8, perfect features and make up. This is a toxic culture where reality is not good enough. I think it’s more self hatred than self love.

I was at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam a while back and it was almost impossible to see the paintings for the number of people posing in front of them! I just don't get it either!

I remember being in the national gallery getting rather annoyed at people taking selfies in front of paintings. I said to my friend why don't they turn around and actually look at the paintings.

Why would this be thread be outing??!

Honestly, OP, it involves less human suffering than when people used to show your their holiday photos as some kind of huge deal, or make you sit through slides on a projector. They typically featured the exact same shot multiple times, but with a slightly different lineup of people. ‘Me and Bill on the beach. Me, Bill and Barbara on the beach. Bill, Brian and Barbara on the beach. Me, Bill, Brian and Barbara on the beach. I think a woman from Leeds took it. Pity about Brian’s head. Bill, was she from Leeds? Or Whitstable? Barbara and Brian in their caravan. Me and Bill in our caravan. Brian, Bill and Barbara outside their caravan — or is it our caravan? Bill, is that ours or theirs? Me and Barbara in a lay-by. Bill and Brian in a lay-by.’ Etc etc.

At least people just post a selfie once on SM, and don’t invite you round to show you the 200 discarded shots that gave them a double chin.

This a massive thing in parts of Asia. Groups of young people go to beautiful places, dressed up to take photos. They always seem to be having a great time. A lot of historical places hire out costumes so people can dress up. It looks really fun. The men have their photos taken nearly as much as the women and also go in for the dressing up. It is pretty wholesome and inoffensive.

When they get to an age when they have kids, they take picture of their kids all dressed up.

As you went to a sunflower field to take pictures yourself, I can’t quite see why you have an issue with that. Everyone is there to have a nice time and take pictures.

In many ways I think there’s been a growing trend towards “aesthetic culture” for years, this is just one manifestation.

See also the growth in gym culture over other sport and exercise (the goal being to get the perfect body rather than to improve skill in a sport)

Restaurants focusing on food which “grammable” (I remember the first time I saw a menu that had the most insta-worthy dishes highlighted, this was about 10 years ago!)

Growth in “museums” which exist primarily because they provide photo opps (bubble planet etc in London).

I was at a nice outside bar recently with lovely views and all the younger women were spending half their time setting up different poses and selfies rather than just chatting to each other and enjoying themselves.

I feel it’s really diminishing our culture personally.

It’s fucking nauseating.

Well you went there specifically to take photos with your camera. Why shouldn't they?

Unless you "put your camera away and enjoy the sunflowers" you really have no moral high ground to judge these people from.

It is. All those pretend photos plastered over social media.

I don’t really have a problem with people taking a nice picture as long as they aren’t getting in everyone else’s way.

But we were recently on holiday in Europe and spent the afternoon in a wonderful museum filled with beautifully dressed people taking very arty pictures and not looking at a single exhibit.

Obviously the museum got the entry fee so it’s all fine really but I just felt sorry that it seemed like they got a lovely photo but missed a lovely experience.

I feel the same way about a group of friends I know who have wonderful social media pictures of them all looking gorgeous and stylish but I know from one of them that they sadly all spent the whole holiday fighting. So they have photos of a lovely holiday but didn’t actually have a nice time.

Nothing wrong with a good picture but it shouldn’t be more important than the experience itself.

YANBU. We were in Mallorca recently and so many people turned up at the beach and instantly started doing this. Including a couple with a 5 ish YO DD who they ignored for at least 15 mins while she posed and he took photos.

The child wandered off, to which they were oblivious and they continued to ignore her when she tried to show them the bits of sea glass she'd collected. Infuriating and very sad.

We’ve just come back from Italy, and the influencers there were maddening. I’ve never seen so many, and taking so long over photos.

Go to a villa/gardens. You want to have a quick look out at the nice view over Lake Como, maybe take a quick family photo? Think again. Get in line and wait while a queue of woman, invariably in stiletto heels and a long gown (ideal attire for walking around a hilly National Trust type garden ) strike 100 different ridiculous poses.

One of them was about 10 years old and already had all the poses and pouts, while her (presumably proud) mother took photos.

At one location, after we waited for about 5 mins with not even so much of an apologetic look from the influencer or photographer, I just walked onto the balcony behind her to have a look outside

And in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan you literally couldn’t walk through the centre because of the number of women twirling around and around for the camera.

I’m so glad I have teenage boys who have no interest in this crap.

I like taking photos of interesting days out and my family but I went to an art gallery in London and sat looking at Van Goghs sunflowers painting, there were benches so you could sit and enjoy looking. there was a steady stream of people standing in front of it and taking a selfie without even looking at the painting, what a waste of time and energy, only caring about themselves and social media and not enjoying a famous painting by you know, facing it !
someone told me about some research into memories whereby people are not making memories of events which process into their long term memory as they are taking photos and videos rather then being in the moment and enjoying it, very sad.

YANBU
I live in the Alps are there is no end to the problems of selfie tourism. A beauty spot nearby has had to be closed because of the hordes of people hiking there. There was too much erosion and damage to nature and there had been numerous accidents including a couple of fatal ones because people slipped at the spot where they take the selfies.
It's everywhere unfortunately. I wonder if it's a trend which will die out or if it's here to stay. More local places are having to take measures because mountain rescue is overloaded with dealing with incidents. It's not sustainable in the long run.

Can’t you see there’s a difference between having an interest in landscape photography and taking selfies?

What is depressing is the whole culture of having to centre yourself in everything, and in particular a one dimensional aesthetic representation of yourself.

There I was with my little DSLR camera trying to get some nice photos of sunflowers, and I couldn't believe the number of people who clearly thought the place existed for their own personal photo shoot.

Surely you can see the irony here?

I agree, OP.

Some people are just completely self obsessed and this technology enables them.

I have been lucky enough to go around the world, see many beautiful places and take lots of photos. I don't have a single photo of myself in any of these places, because why would I? I know what I look like. Why would I want to ruin a shot of the Pyramids, Grand Canal or Colosseum with random people (me included) plonked in front?
So I agree with you, OP - I have never taken a selfie in my life, and I don't understand them. It's just vanity.