Have you ever returned from a holiday drained and tired, making you feel exhausted rather than rejuvenated? Thank you are not alone. Dr Sunita Sayammagaru highlights this situation as a modern travel paradox that leads people returning from a trip and ask for another break.
In today’s scenario, vacations have become more tiring rather than relaxing, shared expert Dr Sunita Sayammagaru. She shared this on social media X (previously known as Twitter), sparking a debate as the post got viral with 163,000 views and hundreds of comments. According to her, nowadays people make long to-do lists for travel and keep ticking them off as they travel. With social media becoming a part of life, vacations include taking photos and making reels that could be posted. Through social media, pressure is created for people to visit as many places as possible in a short span of time. Everything narrows down to “What’s the point of going on a vacation when one returns exhausted rather than relaxing?”. Thus, holidays become a race against the to-do list.
Why are people in a Rush during vacations?
There are many reasons given by the experts and the public, which are as follows:
- Social Media: the platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and many more, are used by people to post photos, videos and reels. Thus, the goal of the holiday is to post stories and posts in order to gain social media attention and get the dopamine rush.
- One lifetime opportunity: many times, people know they would visit the place once, due to the finances it takes. Therefore, they wish to travel to all the tourist places and take advantage of the opportunity they have gotten.
- Rest is viewed as laziness: Culturally, people view rest and relaxing as being lazy, even if it’s a vacation. Not having a productive day seems like a failure. So on a holiday, productivity means completing itineraries
- Perfect Holiday: this concept has been coined with social media aesthetic posts and stories. Thus, making vacation a perfect one to look back on becomes the aim.
Read More: The Instagrammable Vacations Trap: How Social Media Aesthetics Turn Rest into Stress
Alternative Way
Dr Sunita shared her holiday plan against the modern way of vacation. In a rush to complete the to-do travel list, people don’t enjoy the place they are currently visiting and are in a rush to move to the next location. She expressed that her family prefers to choose one or two nearby spots which can be easily visited, and they can enjoy as well. Taking a leisurely approach. She also shared that “we know we can’t see everything and that’s okay”. However, with this way, the family can slow down and relax.
