If you’re reading this while in between brain-busting summer semester tutorials, this article isn’t for you. Neither is it for the person who opted to use these months as a chance to get three jobs and build up a nest egg for the rest of the year. No, this article is for the person who waits until Vancouver’s warmest season to flee to somewhere slightly warmer, for the global explorer who needs to tweet their morning on an exotic beach — otherwise, how will people back home know that it happened?
Vacationing used to mean taking a break from reality, but some say that hoards of gadgets have made this type of vacationing extremely futile. On the contrary, going on vacation has never been more rewarding, or easy to post about. Here are a few tips on how to make the most of your next summer vacation.
Tip 1: Take a photo of an airplane wing or your passport next to your boarding pass to signify that you’re about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Without an establishing shot like this, you risk confusing your loyal followers who might not have seen your multiple posts counting down to your departure date. Another fun way to humblebrag: snap a shot of the queue of passengers boarding the plane.
Tip 2: Once you’ve arrived at your destination — which seems less authentic and more like a over-hyped tourist trap — snap a photo of yourself with a punchy caption like YOLO, maybe paired with a winking emoticon. People back home will know what it means.
Tip 3: If you are travelling with others, make sure you impede on their time with frequent nagging for selfies — or more precisely “us-ies.” They’ll secretly thank you when, years from now, they have so many photos to remind them of an amazing trip.
Tip 4: Make sure you spend a bit of time interacting with the locals and trying to learn about their culture. While this might be a bit out of your comfort zone, locals are your best bet for translating cool words that you can use as hashtags later on.
Tip 5: Always remember to charge your electronic devices. This might seem like a no-brainer, but you don’t want to get stuck without a screen to look at. If your phone dies, immediately start charging it and hop over to your tablet. Vacations are only as good as the social media coverage you provide.
With so many different ways to make the most of your summer vacation, you might worry that you’ve wasted a perfectly good time to relax. Your vacation might not have recharged your batteries — or even made you feel you better — but your social media obsession and tech addiction will have succeeded tremendously in making you feel “liked.”
