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I find it fascinating that people want to fill their lives with "authentic" experiences and then they go out of their way to set themselves up for cookie cutter

I find it fascinating that people want to fill their lives with "authentic" experiences and then they go out of their way to set themselves up for cookie cutter "zombie" experiences. Cram your vacation into a minimum amount of time. Spend all your time in generic airports, hotels, and tour buses. Take the exact same pictures everyone else does. Blaming all this stuff on millenials and instagram is lame, these same patterns have been common for not just decades but generations. It doesn't take much to get away from the crowds. It also doesn't take much to have unique, different, more satisfying experiences. Walk more, explore more, don't be so concerned with ticking off the classic "must do" checkmarks, take the time for your vacation to be for you.

lotsofpulp 8y ago
It's a socioeconomic class thing. Humans organize themselves into heirarchies, so if the class you're in (or one above) starts doing something that can illustrate their status, and not doing it can separate you, then you are also compelled to do it to keep up. But once the class below catches up, the class above will change what it is that separates them (by definition since humans are inherently wanting to outdo each other). Once material goods become cheap, the thing that separates people with status from people without is time. Upper class people have time to go on lengthy international vacation, something lower class people can't do even with money. In my circles, it's not cool to just go to the big sights that mass Chinese and Indian tourists go to. So now a riskier trip with more expenses and planning is required to show status, such as going out on your own backpacking in South America or Safari in Africa or hopping around some islands no one's heard of for scuba diving or hiking in Nepal. The older people opt for luxury in their vacations, showing that not only can they afford to go traveling, but they can go with their whole extended family and rent huge houses in national parks. But it doesn't have to be explicit thinking of "I'm going to show this other person up", it's just the way humanity works in my opinion. You have a certain network, and you either maintain yourself in it or you fall out of it if you don't continue to do the things that network is doing.

lotsofpulp 8y ago

It's a socioeconomic class thing. Humans organize themselves into heirarchies, so if the class you're in (or one above) starts doing something that can illustrate their status, and not doing it can separate you, then you are also compelled to do it to keep up. But once the class below catches up, the class above will change what it is that separates them (by definition since humans are inherently wanting to outdo each other). Once material goods become cheap, the thing that separates people with status from people without is time. Upper class people have time to go on lengthy international vacation, something lower class people can't do even with money. In my circles, it's not cool to just go to the big sights that mass Chinese and Indian tourists go to. So now a riskier trip with more expenses and planning is required to show status, such as going out on your own backpacking in South America or Safari in Africa or hopping around some islands no one's heard of for scuba diving or hiking in Nepal. The older people opt for luxury in their vacations, showing that not only can they afford to go traveling, but they can go with their whole extended family and rent huge houses in national parks. But it doesn't have to be explicit thinking of "I'm going to show this other person up", it's just the way humanity works in my opinion. You have a certain network, and you either maintain yourself in it or you fall out of it if you don't continue to do the things that network is doing.