[imagesource: Tourism NZ]

Instagram is, for the most part, a rather vapid place.

30 years ago, nobody felt the need to ring up a friend and tell them they had just eaten a meal, or seen a sunset, but now it appears that a day cannot pass without folks alerting the world to the inane details of their existence.

#nofilter – so brave.

One Instagram account I am certainly a fan of is ‘Influencers in the Wild‘, which is a marvellous reminder of the lengths people will go to for the perfect shot.

Here are two recent examples, taken from Twitter because we can’t embed the Instagram videos, for those unfamiliar with the account

Where the hell did she come from pic.twitter.com/Ddb4UOvo8A

— influencersinthewild (@influencersitw) January 27, 2021

Okay I actually love this (especially the end) pic.twitter.com/GJKWN2XXz8

— Tank.Sinatra (@GeorgeResch) January 23, 2021

That guy does have the moves, so fair play to him.

Here’s another prime example of how we have regressed as a species since the introduction of social media.

Clearly, Tourism New Zealand has been paying attention, and as The Guardian reports, they’re encouraging people to stop ‘travelling under the social influence’:

In a video, the comedian Thomas Sainsbury stars as a lone ranger in the “social observation squad”, chiding tourists for perpetuating tropes such as a hat-wearing woman in lavender field, a man quietly contemplating on a rock, and “a classic one in these parts: the summit spreadeagle”.

Observe this stellar effort:

The accent makes it even better.

There’s actually a series of ads from Tourism New Zealand, as part of the campaign:

Rather than simply doing it for the ‘Gram, Tourism NZ wants visitors to think outside the box:

“We noticed that the same pictures or poses kept coming up, time and time again, no matter the location,” [said] Bjoern Spreitzer, Tourism NZ domestic manager…

“There are so many incredible things to do in New Zealand, beyond the social trends.”

Yeah, you don’t all have to queue for the ‘perfect shot’:

The social media queue pic.twitter.com/hRj6kBXypS

— Lukas Stefanko (@LukasStefanko) November 25, 2018

This applies to Lion’s Head, too.

[source:guardian]