Is Social Media Ruining Nature?

Scenic spots around the country are becoming overcrowded—and experts are blaming Instagram influencers

October 7, 2019

By Chrisanne Grisé

Courtesy of Colle McVoy

An ad from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, draws attention to the potential dangers of geotagging.

Earlier this year, Steve Manos was facing his biggest crisis yet as mayor of Lake Elsinore, California: an explosion of picture-perfect poppies—known as the super bloom—in the Temescal Mountains, just northwest of the center of town.

The problem wasn’t the flame-orange poppies themselves, the
most vibrant Manos had seen in his 32 years living there. It was the hordes of smartphone-carrying visitors coming to take photos, bringing with them intense traffic and occasionally horrible etiquette when they wandered off the trail to pose with, trample, or pick the poppies. Over St. Patrick’s Day weekend alone, as many as 100,000 poppy-hunting people crowded into town.

“We’ve never had 50,000 or 100,000 in this city all at one time,” Manos says. “The city’s not advertising this. It’s not an event, and for those reasons it’s really hard to plan for anything like that.”

A few weeks earlier, some social media influencers had taken pictures with the first blooms. Many of their posts included geotags, which show precisely where photos are taken. And that, Manos says, is what led to the visitor boom.

Lake Elsinore officials aren’t the only ones concerned about how social media is driving up tourism. Public lands all over the country are growing increasingly crowded as people seeking iconic selfies flock to the breathtaking areas they’ve seen on Instagram.

Fragile Ecosystems

In Arizona, for example, the Horseshoe Bend overlook, which offers a scenic view of a canyon, has gone from something of a local secret to #instafamous. Roughly 2 million people now visit each year, compared with just a few thousand as recently as five years ago.

At many parks, bigger crowds tend to bring out those who are less experienced or prepared—and they often leave trash, cause traffic jams, and damage the environment when they wander off trails. Some places have also noticed an increase in medical emergencies. And while the number of visitors has gone up, park budgets and staff numbers have generally stayed the same, making it difficult for officials to handle the larger groups.

That’s why last November, the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board in Wyoming asked visitors to stop geotagging photographs on social media in an effort to protect the state’s forests and remote lakes. They say that by sharing a precise location on Instagram, users put fragile and wild animals at risk.

But many influencers say that they’re helping to bring business to areas that depend on tourists. Emily Breeze Ross Watson from Charlotte, North Carolina, visited Jackson Hole in 2018 and posted photos of herself posing with a herd of bison and strolling in sight of the Grand Tetons mountain range. The local Four Seasons resort paid her to tag her location for more than 63,000 followers to see.

“I definitely think it is cool to bring awareness to the area,” she says.

On their trip, Watson and a friend, Brittany Turner, visited Jenny Lake, a spot they say they found out about through Instagram posts.

“I was in awe of it,” Turner says. “I can’t imagine them getting mad.”

‘Tag Responsibly’

Of course, officials still welcome respectful visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of the scenery. They’re less thrilled about influencers coming to shoot advertisements for products.

“We want people to have a real connection to nature,” says Jackson Hole tourism board member Brian Modena, “not just a page with a pin on it.”

But experts aren’t asking people to stop posting photographs altogether.

“While tagging can seem innocent, it can lead to significant impact,” says Dana Watts, executive director of Leave No Trace, an organization that promotes use of public lands. “Just think twice before you do it. Take in the environment, what the conditions are, where it is, remoteness, pristineness, all those things—and then think about posting an exact location or posting something more general.”

Tagging may seem innocent, but it can lead to significant damage.

Jackson Hole suggests that rather than use a normal location tag, visitors try this generic one: “Tag Responsibly, Keep Jackson Hole Wild.” Other users have adopted the hashtag #nogeotag instead.

Some influencers are also encouraging others to be respectful while they’re taking pictures outside. Gulin Cetin, who traveled from Los Angeles to see the super bloom, says she brought her own flowers so she wouldn’t need to pick any wild ones. And travel blogger Jacob Fu says he and his wife found creative ways to shoot the flowers without trampling them. “There are plenty of dirt trails to walk around in,” he says. “We’re always . . . trying to be very responsible of how we take the photos and staying on trails.”