Faculty supervisor: Graham Cook<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Literature\nReview<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Travel writing began as western explorers documented\ntheir adventures through the lenses of colonialism, orientalism, and \u2018othering\u2019\ndifferent cultures that they interacted with; in our current modernized world\nthis still occurs however digital psychology and new social norms introduce transformation\ninto the field. The trails of travel have been worn down with popularity and\nsaturated writing markets as compared to a century ago there is essentially now\nno new exploration to occur. The dynamic and objective nature of travel writing\nis further complicated as the digital environment shifts writer-reader\nrelationships, whom is considered a writer, and the authenticity of a\njournalistic approach. Preliminary research into what is affecting the current\nstate of travel writing is done through numerous qualitative interviews with\npopular and influential infield writers. Research today is limited although\nrecent studies are proving to be useful and indicative of future research. Travel\nwriting is currently either on the way out or under a drastic paradigm shift. It\nis noted that there are two main changes in travel writing and they are (1)\nincreased audience interaction and (2) technological innovation (Hanusch, 2012).\nThis literature review will look at three different aspect of how the social\nmedia era has affected travel journalism and are divided into: (1) power shift\nand new modes, (2) user generated content, and (3) the online environment and\nlived experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Power Shift and New Modes<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The evolution of travel writing has changed\ndramatically with the digital age. \u2018New modes\u2019 \nmeans new approaches to communication mechanisms and different channels\nsuch as social media platforms. A power shift with new modes of writing such as\nlaptops and smart phones and a plethora of platforms to write on have made this\nsmall niche of writing a large and often sought-after venture. Laquinto\u2019s study\non Internet use over travel books, such as lonely planet, found there is interchangeability\nbetween print and online content (2012). He also noted that Internet writers\nare not subject same rules anymore, there is a lack of editors and publishers\nand an increase in self publication and self monitoring and influencers are\nalso influenced by followers and sometimes dictated by social norms of the\ninternet (Laquinto, 2012). Shorter word counts and a decrease over the years of\nlarge writing pieces (Jaimeson, 2012). Indeed, the digital movement is causing\na shorter attention span, and shorter stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Globalization and the growth of social and\nparticipatory media world as noted by Good (2012) create worldwide content and a\nvast range of readership that was not available a couple decades ago. She\nasserts that there is a possible paradigm shift in who is a writer. Bloggers\nbecoming professionals and professionals becoming bloggers is the new norm. Interchange\noccurs as the search for the current, the original and the unfamiliar that\nusually drives travel writers to develop a niche ends up with the vast majority\nfitting into an already popularized one as that is where the readership is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n User Generated Content<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mass-media is creating a world that is\ninterconnected and reality based yet in that world perception and ideals are\nbased off each other and made by each other. Self presentation in this digital\nworld is a creation and journalists are losing control because of the common\nplace of mass media. Anyone these days can be Instagram famous, a popular blogger,\nor a YouTube star. Inauthenticity is seemingly commonplace. Self discovery\nthrough adventure and travel is a popular romanticized notion that many western\ncultures partake in. Challenging and often traumatising experiences happen in\nthese travels (McWha, Frost & Laing, 2018). Personal growth and a trend of\ntaking a gap year to find one\u2019s self are a common theme in travel writing\n(McWha, Frost & Laing, 2018). Projection of different selves is another\ntheme. Pirolli stated that there are three selves in travel writing: The\nDiscoverable self, the Transformable self, and the Constructed self (2017).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amateurs vs professional writers are often hard to\ndifferentiate within travel writing as a genre. Hanusch (2012) and Pirolli\n(2013) studied the perceptions of travel writers and found a culture change and\nthat competition and transition between amateur and professional because of\nonline popularity. This was seconded by Good who also noted a loss of\nauthenticity and value in writing (2013). Because of the nature of the internet\nthere is credibility where there is no editor and no publication, and this\nleads to distrust in amateur travel writing. As more people are travelling and\ncontributing to the online slew of travel writing the transition from amateur\nto professional because on online popularity is frequent and has increased\ncompetition (Good, 2017).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Online environment and Lived Experience<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Online environment and the lived experience is\nall about connectivity. There are three main points pointed out by Blaer et\nal. and they are interaction modes,\npersonal branding, and power modes (2020). Introduction of an Interaction mode\nto travel writing such as comments, likes, and followers allows for direct influence\nfrom readers and content driven posts rather then experience driven. \u201cNational\ngeographic\u201d lookalikes and classic photo framing such as a shot of one\u2019s feet\nfrom a blanket and a mountain view in the background (#blessed) are frequent.\nCurrently there is a large representation of personal branding and new personas\nor an enhancement of an online persona among travel writers (Hanusch, 2012). Power\nmodes with a shift towards \u2018Me Inc.\u2019 where opinion pieces, points of view and\nfreelance now dominate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Good with her piece Why We Travel <\/em>wrote on widespread\nsocial media and global access resulting in an \u201coverrepresented world\u201d and an \u201cimage\nsaturated society.\u201d Persistence of neocolonial cultural themes in travel\nphotography continue to show up through untrained and amateur writing (2012).\nShe also notes on the staged experience that is incorporated into most travel\nwriting. Again, this misrepresentation leading to inauthenticity appears to be\na fear in modern travel writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion: <\/strong>The definition of who is a travel writer is\ncurrently under examination and a highly saturated environment is being shaped\nby social media culture. Perhaps everyone is a travel writer these days. Promising\nideas for new research pertaining toself-presentation within travel\nwriting and the effects of the internet on travel writing would benefit further\nunderstanding of this topic. As with many topics surrounding the internet and\nsocial media long term studies are unavailable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Works Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blaer, M., Frost, W., & Laing, J. (2020). The\nfuture of travel writing: Interactivity, personal branding and power. Tourism\nManagement<\/em>, 77<\/em>, 104009. doi: 10.1016\/j.tourman.2019.104009<\/p>\n\n\n\n Duffy, A. (2016). \u201cWherever I Go, There You\nAre.\u201d Journalism Studies<\/em>, 19<\/em>(6), 863\u2013880. doi:\n10.1080\/1461670x.2016.1238317<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good, K. D. (2013). Why we travel: picturing global\nmobility in user-generated travel journalism. Media, Culture &\nSociety<\/em>, 35<\/em>(3), 295\u2013313. doi: 10.1177\/0163443712468608<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hanusch, F. (2012). Broadening The Focus. Journalism\nPractice<\/em>, 6<\/em>(1), 2\u201311. doi: 10.1080\/17512786.2011.622895 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Iaquinto, B. L. (2012). Backpacking in the Internet\nAge: Contextualizing the Use of Lonely Planet Guidebooks. Tourism\nRecreation Research<\/em>, 37<\/em>(2), 145\u2013155. doi:\n10.1080\/02508281.2012.11081699<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pirolli, B. (2018). Travel journalists and\nprofessional ideology. Travel Journalism<\/em>, 31\u201344. doi: 10.4324\/9781315110738-3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Road More Traveled Faculty supervisor: Graham Cook Literature Review Travel writing began as western explorers documented their adventures through the lenses of colonialism, orientalism, and \u2018othering\u2019 different cultures that they interacted with; in our current modernized world this still… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7903,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165\/revisions\/166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolios.capilanou.ca\/devonsimpson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}