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Take Some Time to Disconnect

By Charlotte Copeland

Posted: 25th July 2016 10:15

As a traveller, having access to the big world wide web can be a precious commodity. From booking tickets to Zagreb’s Museum of Broken Relationships, to finding out which hostel has a shower with all the strength of great Poseidon himself; the internet makes all those important things a mere click away.

Boycotting the web altogether would probably just mean the unnecessary loss of a useful travel tool, but there is however, a certain, often unspoken joy that comes from spending a little time disconnected from the competitive buzz of social media.

Whilst wanting to let your Facebook friends know that you’re in Prague while they’re at work is an understanding temptation, travelling is the perfect reason to take a break from the crazy rush of liking and sharing.

Go to any major city around the world and you will find people tirelessly snapping a reel of near-identical photos, desperately trying to take the perfect shot that they can upload and impress their friends with, and maybe snag a new profile picture.

Photos are wonderful things, allowing us to visually relive moments that may be long in the past. The world has many beautiful places, and there’s nothing wrong with taking pictures of them, just be sure to really see them, too, and not just through a screen.

Take a moment to put the camera down and truly immerse yourself in your surroundings. Watch the waves crash against Dubrovnik’s old city walls, birds glide past misty mountains in Bavaria. Taking the time to see the world through your own eyes will allow you to travel back to your favourite places just by thinking of them.

The ‘pictures or it didn’t happen’ mind-set means that people often stress about taking the best pictures that they can in order to upload to their social media. Don’t associate the beautiful places that you visit with stress, but with your experience of truly being there.

Get a real feel for a place, look at the detail, see what the locals are up to, these will be the defining moments of your journey. While social media is a great way of letting friends and family share in your amazing travels, be sure to take some time for yourself too.

About Charlotte Copeland

Charlotte is an eager traveller whose adventures include working in America and interrailing around Europe. Her most beloved destinations to date include Dubrovnik, New Orleans and Pennsylvania, whilst her happiest travel memory is visiting Elvis Presley’s Graceland, on behalf of her grandmother. She has plans to continue on her journey to discover new and exciting parts of the world that she is yet to explore.

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