Taking a selfie is innocent enough, right?

Nope. The world of selfies and holiday snaps on Instagram is officially out of control.

The obsessive need to show the world that you’re living your best life by slapping a filter on a carefully curated photo has become such a phenomenon, that some hotels hire out professional Instagram-sitters to take your pics for you.

While the idea that people will actually hire someone to help them lie to the world is irritating, it isn’t dangerous.

Which brings us to Roys Peak in Lake Wanaka, New Zealand, popular for its three-day hike. This scenic part of the country is also one of the most Instagrammed. Here’s The Guardian:

In the past few years the hike’s popularity has soared, with more than 73,000 people walking it this year, a 12% increase on the year before. Most hikers are lured by the hike’s fame on social media after a promotional campaign by the local tourist board, according to the Department of Conservation.

If friends of yours have been to New Zealand lately and done said hike, they probably posted a solitary pic of themselves dwarfed by the surrounding landscape. That pic would have been a lie.

A recent photo has emerged showing the reality of selfies on the hike:

Yep, that’s a queue of people waiting patiently to pretend that they’re alone out there communing with nature #blessed.

It gets worse.

Local landscape photographer Gilbert Van Reenen said the images of Roys Peak were “inherently untruthful” and tourists were taking risks in dangerous conditions, as well as jeopardising the fragile alpine eco-system.

“It appears to be unique – but it is nothing of the sort. It’s all a deception and it’s whacking the environment big time,” said Van Reenen.

In other words, your selfies are ruining the environment.

Aaron Fleming, an operations director at the Department of Conservation (DOC), said tourists were getting “fixated” on the perfect Instagram snap.

“One of the biggest challenges park managers face worldwide is the power of social media to create new visitor destinations at short notice, such as is the case with Roys Peak,” Fleming said.

“DOC is encouraging visitors to seek out new landscapes for their photos and avoid queues of this kind … there are many quieter parts of New Zealandpeople can discover on their visits if they do a little research.”

Or, ya know, you could just put down the phone, look at the landscape, and stop bugging all of us with your #wanderlust.

Enough now.

[source:guardian]