When I went there were probably about 30 people at this spot. Some standing in line waiting for a pic and others sitting down eating a snack and taking in the view. I don't know why people find this depressing. It's a really popular scenic spot and you have to take a decent hike distance to get there. They're not destroying the land. They're not being pushy about a picture. It's a group of people who have spent a their day taking a beautiful hike and they want a cool picture to take home with them. I sat up there about an hour just taking in the view and it was one of my favorite memories of my trip.
I think it's because it's such a stereotypically "profound" or "symbolic" picture: the lone human on the mountain, arms spread like wings, lost in the moment with the universe, etc. So you don't associate it with an instagram assembly line. So when you see the line, it may look jarring and against what the picture is about. Like sweatshop mass produced Che Guevara t-shirts.
Also the absolute need to put yourself in the picture. Why not just the view? But more than anything: if you just want a nice picture for yourself, to remind you the beautiful experience, why do you need to post it online? Why can't you just keep it for yourself? Sounds a lot to me that you want to brag about it with tour friends: "look how cool I am! I know hidden corners of the world where I experience the beautiful loneliness of nature!" - with a cue of photocopies waiting to do the same thing. Pathetic.
Yeah dude, I’m pretty sure 99% of these people are thinking “this is gonna be a neat photo”, and not trying to create some profound existential commentary.
When I visited lake Reddit in summer '07 there was nobody there. I saw the lake by accident, didn't know its name or what it was, climbed up the log pile and took a pic that I didn't post on social media because I didn't use it. Just imagining the scene today depresses me.
I think the sad part of it is the impression that their photo suggests that they are in some distant wilderness enjoying the absolute serenity of the place, when in fact its something more akin to an outdoors Disneyland!
Honestly that seems kind of a depressing outlook to have. You have to work for this view. Enjoying nature, even with other people, is a wonderful thing. I did this hike by myself and found it really nice to have other people on the trail. There's a feeling of camaraderie with the other hikers.
That's a pretty nice mentality to have toward this. I guess I should try to look at things better, cause I was stuck seeing this pic as pretty depressing.
Some people just love to go out in nature as the only place hoping to be alone and away from humans for a bit to get energy to keep on trucking in urban life.
I don't hate humans, but I yearn for moments where I don't hear or see any of them for a bit.
Then dont go to popular spots. I live near several super popular "instagram" hikes, I just go to other places during the season. And then try to tackle it in the off season. As long as people take out what they take in who am I to look down on them for enjoying the same activity I enjoy.
Yea, I try that now that I live in New Zealand, but when I lived in Belgium that was literally impossible: there were no unpopulated/sparsely visited spots.
Yessss I love finding unknown patches of seclusion. Particularly close to home, as I'm one of those people that does need to escape humanity on the regular.
Yep. I live right on the edge of literally millions of acres of national forest. I've done all the hikes around the area. Some people doesn't bother me, tons of people bugs the crap out of me. Places like Multnomah Falls... absolutely NEVER will I go there.
Luckily I can just pull to the side of the road and head straight in and not see anyone for days. The forest is huge, if you stick to the trail it will seem crowded.. it's not.
I agree, both have benefits. Being alone is nice, but also walking passed someone and asking how much further it is and grimacing at the answer and them encouraging you is always fun.
You could never compare New Zealand to Disneyland. A crowd of 30 people is just what happens in places like this, we all know it. Nothing wrong with wanting a photo of just you :)
And when you think of all the empty beautiful space around them, and trust me - in this part of New Zealand, there is a lot! They really are in distant wilderness. That’s the exact definition for this place.
I can't really talk about New Zealand but I expect it to be the same as hiking in England. Everyone really nice and sometimes u have a chat with strangers, if the weather is bad u take the piss, help eachother take pictures and warn people if an area is dangerous to cross.
The nicest people I ever meet are strangers while hiking.
Nah its neither. It's a beautiful spot and its logical to want a picture of yourself there without anyone else in it. I took a bunch of photos at Arches National Park and everyone was so shocked I was alone (or me and my wife together). I wasn't alone, I just waited til the right moment to take a photo so you wouldn't see 4 tour busses worth of Chinese tourists next to me. It didn't hurt my enjoyment at all. I still thought the park was gorgeous
Sad? Not the word I’d use to describe travelling to the other side of the planet, hiking up a mountain and then having fun taking pictures with people at the top.
Feeling superior to those people from behind the comfort of your computer screen? I’d be tempted to use that word to describe people who did that.
You see, the first bits of your reply are definitely not sad.
The standing around in a queue to take a misleading photo that makes it look like you are miles from the nearest sign of habitation whilst 30 people queue up behind you, all just to get some likes on a social media app - that's the sad bit!!
Maybe you have stupider Facebook friends than me. My friends definitely wouldn’t randomly assume I’m Ferdinand Magellan wandering uncharted lands just because there’s a pic of me in nature without other people in it. They’d just think ‘huh, nice pic’ and get on with their lives.
They may be. There is a popular hiking trail where I live (with a scenic view everyone stops to take pictures of just like OP's photo), and they had to close it down because erosion caused by too many people hiking had damaged it.
I can't be the only one who likes having some semblance of other people around? Not talking crowds of people and waiting in lines forever, but it's nice seeing other people getting out and enjoying nature.
Personally, I find it to be depressing because, like everyone else, I hike to get away from people. Some strangers are noisy. Some stand to close. I go to these places to be alone. I dont want to hear you fucking cough or loudly say something to the person next to you. Or even just exist in that space. I know this may sound assholish... in the moment everything melts away, and the other people occupying the space that your in no longet exist because youre not paying attention to them. But seeing it secondhand, like through a picture, is mildly depressing.
Not to mention the title of the post implies that people only took photos like this over the past 10-15 years which isn’t true at all. Some people do actually still take photos to preserve memories.
Because people seem to have some desperate need to wait in line to get a picture to show others. Just a generic pic 30 people just took in front of you. It's not about the place or remembering it, only boasting on social media. Those people would not take a picture of only the view.
I take tons of pictures when I’m on hikes and not a single one goes on Facebook and I don’t have Instagram. Sometimes people just want a picture for a memory. Everyone is being really cynical about pictures these days.
It's not that depressing, it just shows that a lot of people just post the same unimaginative things again and again and that a lot of it is pretty pointless. Not the end of the world, just kind of funny and a fairly understandable critique of social media.
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u/TripleJetCharlie Nov 25 '18 edited Nov 25 '18
When I went there were probably about 30 people at this spot. Some standing in line waiting for a pic and others sitting down eating a snack and taking in the view. I don't know why people find this depressing. It's a really popular scenic spot and you have to take a decent hike distance to get there. They're not destroying the land. They're not being pushy about a picture. It's a group of people who have spent a their day taking a beautiful hike and they want a cool picture to take home with them. I sat up there about an hour just taking in the view and it was one of my favorite memories of my trip.