PolyU Study Finds Online Tourist Photos Present Ideal Selves
Tourists deciding what photographs to take and share with others are engaging in impression management involving the presentation of an "ideal self", according to Dr Iris Lo, a Ph.D. graduate of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University who was supervised by Professor Bob McKercher of the SHTM. In a recently published study, the researchers highlight the role of social media in changing the nature of travel, as tourists increasingly post their photos online to be viewed and commented on by broad audiences. They find that through the photo selection process, tourists become engaged in a constant comparison and re-evaluation of their performance and find themselves in a "constant dilemma of who to satisfy".