I'm not sure it's possible to turn travel into content without also shining a spotlight on where you've been. Travel influencers and video creators who post about places they travel to without sharing the details frequently get accused of gatekeeping, and commenters inevitably reveal the details themselves.

For years, I spent a lot of time traveling across the world in ways I thought were "authentic". I learned things on those travels, I met worthwhile people, and I ate delicious food. But as I think more deeply about the ecological and cultural costs of mass tourism in the age of social media, I find myself drawn more and more to Gary Snyder's famous line, "The most radical thing you can do is stay home."

I cannot understand those who see everything through the camera on their phone. Go to a concert and watch recordings being made that will likely never be watched. How much energy does all that storage consume? The act of turning something beautiful in its own way into something about yourself is difficult to understand. Do we really require validation to understand what we are seeing/experiencing?

I used to work in Monument Valley at a small clinic. Driving in from the north, there is a stunning view of the sandstone pillars to the south that was featured in Forrest Gump. Over the years I worked there, more and more people would pose in the middle of the highway (speed limit 65mph) to take pictures for social media. This culminated in a fatality when someone coming over the hill swerved off the highway to miss some tourists posing in the road and killed a teenager selling Navajo Tacos on the gravel pullout nearby.

This is all so that people can recreate a photo that’s already been taken hundreds of thousands of times. The tribe finally paid to install warning lights and change the shoulder structure.

I don’t necessarily have a problem with tourists taking pictures, but there’s a cost when it comes at a massive scale. So, maybe if you’re going to stop to photograph an iconic location, buy something from a nearby vendor to offset the costs that have been imposed on them.

It’s interesting that in the camping, and overlanding community, the idea of keeping the wild private is more pervasive. I don’t freely share coordinates publicly but will do so privately for camp spots. Of course, some wild spots are no longer wild, but it is a stark contrast compared to modern lifestyle travelers. “Don’t blow up the spot!”

Echoing Naz' comment, surfing has long has a history of not wanting to expose exactly where things were filmed (or experienced). At best this helps keep the spirit of adventure alive, and lesser-known corners of the world can remain untrampled and peaceful. But at worst it's gatekeeping and a tool of the rich and powerful to keep out those looking to enjoy the sport deeply. As usual, the extremes at both ends are probably where the silliness is?