
Has Travel Become Another Exercise in Narcissism? - benbreen
https://medium.com/human-parts/has-travel-becoming-another-exercise-in-narcissism-bfb3ccbcdc3a
======
nickthemagicman
I travel a lot and one big advantage of travel I've found is not necessarily
all the 'cool adventures' but the fact that you're around strangers all the
time so you're allowed to experiment with your personality.

At home you become one version of yourself and people know you and treat you
as such and you respond in kind. Everything becomes sort of routine to
maintain the status quo.

Travel is amazing because you literally have no preconceived notions or
expectations from other people so you can experiment and be different versions
of yourself and no one will be the wiser.

You can learn a lot about yourself and others this way.

It's also extremely liberating.

~~~
pud
You can also just be yourself, all the time, wherever you are.

~~~
nickthemagicman
Haha, the psychology of the 'self' is very very interesting and a little
scary.

Do you think all of your thoughts are 'completely original' and created by
you?

Or do you think that most of your thoughts stem from things you have
experienced in the direct environment of your life and your overall
personality,goals,likes and dislikes are built upon these thoughts and
experiences? And therefore by changing your environment and experiences you
would be a completely different version of yourself?

What if you were born to a Saudi Arabian family? What are the chances you
would be a Muslim, possibly signifigantly conservative, you wouldn't like the
TV shows and music you currently like, your goals would be drastically
different because the culture has different socially sanctioned versions of
success, etc.....

How much of you is really 'you'? Where does the idea of 'you' begin and where
does the surrounding world stop?

~~~
tedks
>What if you were born to a Saudi Arabian family? What are the chances you
would be a Muslim, possibly signifigantly conservative, you wouldn't like the
TV shows and music you currently like, your goals would be drastically
different because the culture has different socially sanctioned versions of
success, etc.....

Yes, if both my genome and my upbringing were different, I would be a
different person.

Is this really insightful? Where is the insight, for those seeing insight
here?

~~~
nickthemagicman
It doesnt stop at your upbringing.

Your world around you shapes your thoughts and actions and therefore who YOU
are.

Its interesting because we consider ourselves static entities shaping our
environment.

Our env is equally shaping us.

[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_self](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_self)

------
ivraatiems
The old man in me screams: It's not that travel has become narcissistic, it's
that everything has. Narcissists make everything about them, and there seem to
be more narcissists now than ever before (if there aren't more, the existing
ones are certainly more prominent).

We're all one of the crowd, like the author says. Technology has made it very
easy to forget that.

~~~
gordaco
More than that, we have a lot of narcissism-enhancing, or at least narcissism-
displaying, tools. In the form of social networks.

~~~
Namrog84
As we complain about narcissism enhancing social websites as we are on a
social place portraying our own views and opinions. The line is a fuzzy one.

~~~
ivraatiems
It's true! I keep refreshing the page to see if people are upvoting me (I
think that's what we call it on HN?).

But some narcissism is healthy; the problem is more when it's allowed to run
rampant or become the sole purpose behind some behavior. It's the difference
between posting because you have something to say, hoping people might agree,
and posting because you _need_ people to agree with you.

~~~
Filthy_casual
I think spamming refresh happens not because you're narcissist but because you
are eager to see if your opinion is well-received by others. That can be
unhealthy. It's one thing to get feedback from multiple sources to notice
things and behaviors that are harmful or unwanted (like being cocky or people
feeling you're argumentative) and another if you're anxious to learn whether
or not others will find value in what you said.

It's roughly like... The "nice guy syndrome", where a person is engaged with
what others expect from him so much that he undermines what he personally
wants. In online forum terms this might mean that you're commenting in favor
of the popular opinion of the forum and not voicing your own opinion to see
whether it has flaws or not. Naturally, this is one of the many reasons why a
community becomes an "echo chamber".

------
walru
In my recent tales of online dating I've run into this a lot - so much so I've
made a point of mentioning in my OKC profile that while it's great to love
traveling, this tells me nothing of your personality, pursuits or goals.

The vast majority of individuals highlight their love of travel, or where
they're going to go next as if this is defining themselves in some way. While
going to Paris and walking the streets for an extended weekend allows you to
breathe different air, I fail to see this as something which defines a person.
Volunteering your time locally speaks infinitely stronger to one's character
than how much time and money they can spend outside of their 25 mile home
radius.

To that end, I believe it's absolutely necessary for your soul to experience
as much as you can.. but there's just as many adventures in your own backyard.

~~~
tedks
>In my recent tales of online dating I've run into this a lot

The reason why Tinder won and OkCupid lost so horrifically (okcupid in my area
has gone from an oasis to desert in less than a year...) is because people are
literally unable to even conceptualize their own interests and desires in the
world we find ourselves in.

That's why okcupid profils all say they love laughing, having a good time,
traveling, and are easy-going and down-to-earth. We've produced a society of
totally formless humans, able to take whatever cog-shape is presented to them,
and live out a meek, subservient life punctuated by crappy pictures of the
Eiffel Tower or maybe, if they're _really_ adventurous, St. Peter's Basilica.

I think Tinder's success is a great example of this in the startup sense,
because they noticed hey, if most people just look at pictures and ignore all
this quiz-and-essay nonsense then why not just do that? It's a recognition
that people don't have personalities, they'll just mold to fit whatever
they're placed in front of.

I think the next Tinder, then, going by this trend, is a machine-learning
driven service that just gives you one match a day, based on how attractive
you both are given your photos and measurements. You can talk and exchange
outside contact information if you want, and if not you can block them/wait
for the next day.

~~~
fragsworth
> It's a recognition that people don't have personalities, they'll just mold
> to fit whatever they're placed in front of.

I've seen so many relationships end in disaster because of this. In the
beginning of the relationship, one or both participants will pretend to be
someone they're not, so they can please the other one. Later, they always
revert to their normal behavior, and this usually ends the relationship.

~~~
tedks
I would say that they get bored, and where they were willing to put in effort
(which all relationships require) at the beginning, they aren't now.

Which again, isn't surprising. Even people who get married and think they'll
be together for the rest of their life get bored and leave about half the
time.

I think that the trend is towards shorter, less emotional relationships,
because nobody wants to get serious; everyone wants to have fun. Nothing
that's not fun is worth doing.

Who knows, maybe the next Tinder will be more like Uber.

------
pasbesoin
In part, I think today's emphasis on narcissism is just another way of saying
that you need to pick your company carefully.

If you read that previous sentence carefully, there's a bit of a rhetorical
edge to it.

Self-absorption is a major component of, if not every human condition,
certainly of human society.

If you don't like where it's going, striking early is the best response. Don't
let it take you there; don't lend it your power.

To the extent you can, don't put up with the narcissistic boss. Don't let
narcissistic friends and acquaintances dictate the agenda. If they want/choose
to break out of that shell and engage in what you are doing and interested in,
fine. Maybe they'll learn something.

And then, when it's your turn, maybe the lesson will be a bit more gentle and
strike a bit sooner, before you get too far down that path, yourself.

If anything, today's world seems to be teaching this lesson less and less
effectively than perhaps it should.

~~~
eric_bullington
Awesome comment, I've read it multiple times.

------
droopyEyelids
When Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad, published in 1869 contained:

 _The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become
until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in the supposition that the
gentle reader has not been abroad, and therefore is not already a consummate
ass._

to describe the results of the first-ever pleasure cruise to Europe, I have to
assume that pleasure travel was an exercise in narcissism since the very
first.

------
metra
It sounds a bit like the author's forgotten what it's like not to travel at
all. As an American, I wish my friends would venture outside our borders so
that in the future when, inevitably, we will need to invade yet another
country perhaps we will reconsider. I'll gladly take the risks of
homogenization and narcissism to the risks of an insulated population that
accepts the media's perspective of the world rather than their own firsthand
(albeit limited) experience.

~~~
ZanyProgrammer
Maybe everyone here makes 6 figure salaries, but overseas travel is
ridiculously expensive. I've found that it's mostly the people who can afford
it who proclaim the benefits of travel.

~~~
cwilson
I traveled all around South America for six months and spent maybe 10k total
on the trip and I wasn't living frugally at all. I stayed in Airbnb's over
hostels, ate good food often, and went on lots of paid excursions. I probably
could have spent 5k total if I did the hostel thing, ate on the cheap, and
didn't pay for any tourist activities.

My point is you can travel on the cheap if you put effort into it, especially
in South America. Traveling in Europe? Sure, that's going to be just as
expensive if not more than simply living day to day in the states. There are
definitely places you can travel without making a six figure salary however.

~~~
taeric
It isn't just the monetary cost of the trip, but the opportunity cost of not
having a paying job. The later is far more expensive than the former.

~~~
chatmasta
What's the opportunity cost of not having a job when you're in South America
anyway? Where would you put your salary?

~~~
icebraining
The problem is not having a job when you return from South America. Most
people can't simply expect to get a decent job in a reasonable amount of time.

------
revscat
Perhaps. And I have certainly encountered the type of traveller who seemingly
tells you stories of their journeys so that they may one-up you on the social
scale. I tend to forgive this, though, because underneath it all we are simply
simians with shoes, jockeying for social status and sex.

I have travelled some in my life. Not extensively, but enough to have a few
stories of my own. My guidelines around traveling are:

1) Be humble. Related: be prepared to apologize if you do something
unintentionally rude. I had to do this frequently in Asia because me, being
American, was not used to taking off my shoes whenever I entered a home or
restaurant. I quickly learned, but there were times at the beginning where I
forgot. Apologies helped. Exception: Australia.

2) Be reserved. If someone is interested in you or your country they will ask.
If not, don't bore them with something they may or may not care about.
Exception: Ireland.

3) Do not portray competitiveness. This can easily come across as arrogant and
provincial. Exception: Ireland.

4) Be inquisitive. Ask questions about the country you are visiting, and be
genuine about it, not judgmental. Exception: North Korea.

5) When you return home, tell your tales to interested friends or coworkers,
but be aware that not everyone will care. Exception: Finland.

~~~
busterarm
Would you be willing to expound upon your exceptions?

~~~
MattBearman
I was about to ask the same, particularly as I'm currently traveling round
Europe, and happen to be in Finland right now.

~~~
kiiski
As someone who lives there, I'm also curious about that. Should number 5 be
read as "tell everyone about Finland", or "tell no one about Finland"? Why?

------
dschiptsov
What do you mean by become? If you are a deep love with your self, everything
you do is wonderful and exceptional by definition. The only thing to bother
about (otherwise naive self-deception will be broken by cognitive dissonance)
is that it must be not easily obtainable or achievable for, you know, "other
people".

We had one web designer hotshot in Moscow who years ago said proudly in his
blog - "I have been in 77 different countries" (we wished to comment "but
haven't got any smarter", but let it pass).

Nowadays it is about "difficult (read - expensive) to reach" places and/or
"having that ultra hi-tech gear", but that is just another form of
_exhibitionist consumption_ or "consumption as way to distinguish oneself"
(what nonsense!).

Have you seen these modern Everest climbers? it is all about money and
expensive stuff. There is mt.Dhaulagiri which is only few hundred meters less
of height and much more difficult to claim - no one is there - one or two
professional teams per year at most.

------
colinbartlett
Or maybe just rubbing your travel experiences into the faces of everyone via
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. is the narcissistic part?

Those that travel and don't tell anyone, but rather just enjoy the experience
-- are they narcissists?

~~~
tinco
No, they're selfish for not sharing their experiences of the wonders of the
world with those close to them.

~~~
hobo_mark
/sarcasm

------
sethrin
I'd rather live someplace for an extended period of time than "travel". When
you're in some place for a day, you can write paragraphs about your actions.
When you're in a place for a week, you write fewer paragraphs about the
memorable experiences. When you're in a place for a year, you write nothing at
all, but you learn to think and live differently.

It's a hell of a lot harder than jetting away for a weekend though.

------
Htsthbjig
Putting other people down in order for you to feel better or above them is
also narcissism.

I am Spanish, learned Mandarin, Japanese, German , a little Russian and lived
in other countries so much that I feel like at home in lots of places, have
friends there too.

When you travel, you change your way of thinking about others and about you.
It is not only beautiful, it also makes you feel bad when you see the web of
interest that rule the world, when you see corruption, or extreme poverty, or
people dying.

When something happens, like Ukraine, or Japan defaulting on their debt or
whatever I could talk to someone in Skype and get a better picture from there
that just any mass media that has a completely different set of interest than
the people living there.

There is no way you could understand the world just speaking your native
language.

But it is not for everybody, if someone wants to spend their money to see
Great Pyramid of Giza and return to home, good for them.

------
joshuaheard
Buying a one-way ticket to Europe alone at age 22 with a backpack, $1,000, and
two years of high school French is not narcissism, my friend. It's a maturing,
confidence-building, life-expanding experience.

------
return0
Apparently traveling is "something to do" for developed-country-dwellers. What
used to be a hobby for the ultrarich of the 19th century is now part of the
middle class dream. The bigger issue than narcissism however is the
homogeneity of cultures today. There is barely anything to "explore" that is
original and not part of some touristy routine (even space will soon turn out
a boring destination). There's just an enormous industry built behind it that
keeps the train moving.

~~~
saryant
I have to disagree. Sure, if you stick with package tours taking an air
conditioned bus from one site to another, that's all you'll get. But there is
more than enough to explore that is nothing like developed, Western countries.
Yes, there are things like the Banana Pancake trail where it just feels like
you can't escape the Lonely Planet bus. But I can't agree that the world can
be so distilled into a guidebook that there's nothing left, or that somehow
that makes the world homogenous.

A tourist can turn the world into Disneyland if they wish, but that's their
own damn fault.

------
netcan
I’m not sure directly about Narcissism, but I think the meaning of travel
today is very different from what it was 20 or 50 years ago. The world was a
lot bigger. Foreign places a lot farther and a lot more foreign.

Discovering that thew world was so big and had so much stuff in it that you
had never considered was a sort of awing experience. Being a fish out of water
in a way that a German would have felt in 1960s Marakesh was a lot greater.
The traveller’s ability to plan and control the experience a lot more limited.
Inevitably, the traveller was faced with a lot of experiences, people and
places that they had no stereotypes and biases to understand through. They
couldn’t make make sense of things. They would have just had to accept things
without classifying, judging or using the normal mental models we have for
making sense of our world. It was much more possible to have a humbling
experience.

These days not just travel, but all contact with foreign place is a much more
accessible, easy and unchallenging recreation. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. It
just isn’t as character building as it was, in general.

Regarding narcissism… The desire to travel has always been part and parcel of
the desire to have adventures. Stories to tell and memories to look back on. I
think the stories to tell is the thread that narcissism pulls. I’m not sure
how that relates to then and now.

------
microcolonel
Ironically, the article makes for a splendid example of an exercise in
narcissism.

------
carsongross
Travel has always struck me as being a positional good more about telling
other people about your amazing life (previously using slide shows and social
event conversations, now with pintwitfacetagram) than about actually enjoying
the experience, which is typically uncomfortable, wasteful, filled with
boredom, preposterously expensive and over far to quickly to develop any deep
appreciation for your destination.

~~~
colinbartlett
> uncomfortable, wasteful, filled with boredom, preposterously expensive and
> over far to quickly to develop any deep appreciation for your destination

You and I have had vastly different travel experiences.

------
drivingmenuts
Aside from traveling for job or survival, all other traveling is about the
traveller, not the place the traveller goes to.

Aside from necessity, all else _is_ narcissism. The question is what level is
acceptable?

Like most things that don't threaten the herd, that's up to the individual.

------
tootie
This is why I loved An Idiot Abroad. Karl just relentessly called everything
as he saw it. No interest in anything "exotic" if it wasn't actually
enjoyable. He believs that every culture is just as stupid as the one he was
raised in.

------
31reasons
"Henry Wismayer is an award-winning freelance journalist based in London. He
writes travel features for over 50 publications, including the New York Times,
Guardian, Washington Post and TIME Magazine"

Sounds pretty narcissistic to me.

~~~
marknutter
There's a difference between self promotion and narcissism.

~~~
31reasons
So professional self promotion is acceptable but social self promotion is not
? I don't know but his article feels like a weird rant. I don't know how to
describe it but its like he is saying.."Don't drink wine if you don't
understand its taste , texture, history etc". Don't tell people how to travel
its just wrong.

------
mooted1
What an unbearable read.

------
switch007
I found that really difficult to read. It was as if he spent far too much time
hunting for unusual adjectives and nouns.

"each turn in the road reconnoitred in advance", "...the once tedious Mr.
Nuttall had been injected with an ebullient charisma", "prostrate yourself
before the altar of benumbing technology", "windswept promontory"...

Perhaps an explanation can be found in the that I am merely an unlettered
ignoramus too adherent of simpler writing styles.

~~~
solistice
No, I'd say that these don't really add anything to the quality of the piece
except loss of clarity. Prose isn't poetry, and poetry isn't neccesairily made
better by adding obscure wording.

------
rileytg
Perfect example of self loathing medium post. Nailed it bro

------
general_failure
I am surprised the author makes no mention of the 'click-happy' tourist. This
traveller only wants to take pictures and such kinds are _everywhere_. Like go
to the grand canyon. Instead of standing and experiencing the awe inspiring
nature's work, people are taking pictures. All. the. time. In fact, I
guarantee you that it's hard to find a person not taking pictures and not
carrying a camera.

------
richardlblair
You can say the same thing for the self proclaimed foodies who instagrams
every meal while the others at the table politely wait for them to finish so
they may eat together. By the time they get to it the food is fucking cold,
and while they attempt to highlight the flavours they don't realize the moment
has passed. The experience, in its entirety, has been destroyed.

The issue is not traveling, it's that our generation has made being a
narcissist cool. We post a small sampling of our experiences on facebook,
twitter, medium, and instagram. But, only the positive ones. We could never
risk letting the people of the world know that we are average.

Social media has devalued our experiences and the validation/interest of our
closest friends, and increased the value of validation and interest of total
strangers.

Your value is the not the sum total of likes, retweets, karma, and <3's on
instagram. I would go so far to say that your perceived value by those who
matter is inversely correlated to your likes, retweets, karma and <3's

/end rant

Oh the irony that I unloaded all this here, on social media...

------
daemonk
The key quote in the article is when the author describes his own job as a
travel writer as "an over-inflated respect for the unique value of my own
experience". I think that applies to all experiences these days, not just
traveling. Especially with social media serving kind of as an "enabler" of
this over-inflated respect.

------
peterwwillis
Some people imagine that by merely being transported to a different place, it
will change them. But the only thing that can change you is using your
experiences to shape your thoughts.

Tourist, n.: _" a person who is traveling or visiting a place for pleasure"_.
For _pleasure_ ; not to transform one's being, or become one with nature, or
to gain some massive insight into the plight of a poor remote community of
people. Tourism is about having fun. Travel is just transportation.

If you choose to you can do some soul-searching and maybe find something in
you has changed on your journey. But it's not an inherent part of every travel
you have. In this vein, you do not have to look down on yourself or anyone
else for coming back from travel without being enlightened.

I wish this writer would relax a bit, and maybe forgive himself for whatever
self-loathing prompted this post.

------
jgh
Next article: "Who are these kids and why are they on my lawn?" published by
Onion Belt Quarterly.

------
jordanpg
Great to hear this said out loud.

Travel without context is absurd. It's institutionalized syphoning of money
away from tourists, under the guise of some sort of transformative experience
with lots of photo-ops.

In order for travel to be "meaningful", there must context for it. This might
mean going to a country for business or to visit friends. It might mean being
a tourist _if you know what you 're looking at_. Simply showing up at a museum
or a cathedral, reading the placard, and walking away transformed is the scam
of the century.

I never travel solely to see things unless they are things I want to see for
reasons unrelated to the travel itself. Usually history.

------
te_chris
I liked the writing and even agreed with some of it, having met Bintang guy.
Couldn't stop one thing jumping out at me though: this guy is basically
railing against travel becoming more affordable and approachable so that it is
no longer the pursuit of the elite and stubbornly adventurous.

I guess that's annoying in some ways as you run into the people from home that
you're trying to escape by travelling to foreign destinations. Haughty elitism
aside though, more people experiencing more of the world doesn't strike me as
a bad thing.

------
alexvr
No, traveling can be fun and exciting and novel, so many people long to do it.
Travel has very little to do with narcissism. The thing that should be
criticized here is the page of angry, useless nonsense you wrote. It doesn't
help anyone. Stop complaining. Or, so I can say "to each his own," continue
complaining, if you so desire, but keep it private.

------
leeber
I've never been out of the country. Will I one day? Sure, but it's not like I
have a burning desire to leave tomorrow and spend significant amounts of time
and money at some tourist destination on the other side of the earth.

I don't really participate much in social media, I have my own interests and
like to just do my own thing. I have friends who share similar interests and
sometimes we'll do those things together.

I don't have to share with random facebook friends (whom are really just
acquaintances -- who really has 200+ real friends?) how many countries I've
been to, how many miles I ran this morning, the wonderful healthy breakfast I
ate, the celebrity I met on the street, or how amazing my volunteer experience
was, how wonderful my bf/gf/husband/wife is, how crazy it was at the night
club, etc etc etc.

I have great memories of lots of things I've done, and I share those memories
with the people I experienced them with, and sometimes I'll tell those
experiences to close friends or family members, or share them at relevant
moments in social situations like a related conversation taking place where I
can actually add value (as opposed to just hearing myself talk and looking for
more validation from the others around you).

I do what I do and I'm perfectly content. Social media as a whole is an
opportunity for people to sideline brag and make them feel part of "the club."
They achieve their validation by how many people "like" their photo or post.

Volunteering and traveling are two things that some (keyword _some_ ) people
use as a vehicle to make themselves seem more important or esteemed than
others. If you haven't traveled, surely you're a naive American who doesn't
know anything about the world outside of your own bubble -- BUT on the
otherhand, if you see the eiffel tower in person you somehow become wise and
cultured by that experience. If you haven't volunteered recently, you
certainly must be a selfish prick. And of course these people don't say these
things directly to you, instead they have become an expert at implying them
passively.

Meh.

There was recently a thread on front page of HN about which social networks
middle school and high school kids are using. It's mainly instagram, and it's
used as a vehicle to allow some kids to attain status as "popular". Everyone
"follows" the popular kids, etc. I think the article of this thread highlights
how that same popularity contest exists for older people too. Except it's on
facebook, and you become popular by posting travel photos, volunteer photos,
your color run photos, etc.

~~~
leeber
Also I never thought I'd be quoting scripture, but this is a fitting passage!

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them" ...
"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be
honored by men."

Another saying about players...(this one's not scripture)

"Real players don't say they're players; they just are"

------
noname123
I'd love to hear some of your guys' traveling stories off the beaten paths and
what you have learned?

Me personally I learned more about my traveling companion honestly than the
trip itself, more often than not that the relationship or friendship is doomed
to fail and/or in retrospect how self-centered I was haha.

------
jarsin
To me the true narcissism of travel is all the people who think because they
have been somewhere that makes them superior and more evolved than those who
have not.

I see this in the online dating world a lot where girls are all about the
travel, and will write you off if you have not been to 20+ countries etc.

------
guard-of-terra
You should absolutely travel. That's what life is for.

That doesn't grant you un-boring life right away, tho.

Not being able to actually interact with natives (that don't sell something to
you) is a problem. There are some solutions like couchsurfing, but it's not
solved completely.

------
iterationx
Travelling has always been a romantic notion: "The Road to Oxiana",
Steamships, "The Grand Tour". Its traditionally not been so accessible. Now
that it is, you're more inclined to run into boring normal people (possibly
like yourself)

------
leroy_masochist
I thought the points in this article were made more humorously here:
[http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/07/12-types-of-people-youll-
find-...](http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/07/12-types-of-people-youll-find-in-
every.html)

------
eric_bullington
Maybe this is the case in SF and NYC, but in most of the rural, suburban, and
small-city United States, there aren't that many people who have traveled or
lived outside of Europe or North America.

~~~
Dewie
The writer is based in London and seems to be British. Did the article
especially bring up cities like NYC and SF? Or the US? I didn't notice.

~~~
eric_bullington
I was writing from my experience, which includes SF and NYC more than London
(it's been well over a decade since I was in London).

His thesis was that travel has become a token of narcissism for Westerners
("idea has seeped into the West’s worldview"). He even describes a Canadian
couple who he believes fits this description at the end.

My reply is that maybe that's the case in big cities, but that travel off the
"beaten path" is relatively rare among most Westerners, at least in the US.

------
sehugg
I'm confused as to how he can bust on the Canadian couple that prefers to
internalize their travel experiences rather than proselytize to others. Isn't
that the opposite of narcissism?

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Evolved
Are we actually more narcissistic or does it just seem that way since we tend
to be more open with our thoughts and feelings and because were able to share
that with a much wider audience?

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damon_c
Hmm. Well considering that the alternative is _not traveling_ , personally I
can't say I have found that to be a huge benefit to people who have tried it
instead.

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koof
This has a lot of truth to it, but rather than encouraging labor as the
opposite thing that makes you interesting, who cares about being interesting?

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batemanesque
damn Millenials, everything is an exercise in narcissism these days

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davedx
Typical cynical Internet bullshit. This article is right at home on Hacker
News, where everybody rushes to uncover the negative points hiding in every
positive story.

Your life is what you make of it! Maybe travel does expand your horizons, your
mind, your sense of the world in general. Maybe it's just an excuse to take
lots of drugs and get laid.

Who the fuck cares? The vast majority of people I know who have travelled are
not narcissists. And if some of them were, well, the world's a big place.
That's kind of the point.

~~~
efuquen
Exactly. The post is full of contradictions and the "Narcissism" he rails
against is reeking throughout it.

And that word narcissism has become such an overused, cliche word for
everything that ails society. It's used for all sorts of regular, predictable
human behaviour when it's meant to be describing a much severe display of self
importance and extreme selfishness. Simply talking about trips and posting
pictures on facebook isn't narcissism. Technology has just enabled a form
sharing to a wider audience that's been occurring for a very long time, the
equivalent of sharing a photo album, is that narcissism?

~~~
Evolved
Narcissism has become like the word "offended." People become offended at the
slightest thing and folks are accused of being narcissistic for saying the
slightest thing that is going positive in their lives.

