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BEFORE the internet reared its all-knowing, all-seeing head, the quality of a holiday was mostly based on the colorful memories a traveler could recall.
Nowadays, vacation stories are relegated to the same old pictures.
Such as showing people image after image of your legs at the beach, your sunburned face in front of historical landmarks, the “authentic’ cuisine and the compulsory pre-departure tipple.
But now, experts are warning this mindless picture-taking and uploading could be leading to a state of “digital amnesia”.
Oxford University sensory expert Professor Charles Spence researched 2,000 vacationing adults and discovered most them relied on smartphones to remember their trip.
Professor Spence concluded that instead of snapping away every detail of your trip, you should instead draw it.
Genius, right?
What are the benefits?
According to experts, taking pictures only stimulates one sense – sight. Perhaps sight and sound if you’re filming, but nothing more.
However, simply sketching, painting or even sculpting can trigger three senses – sight, touch, and sound.
Engaging in a craft to capture your trip also activates your sense of position, meaning memories can be made more prominent.
Opposed to relying on the downgraded pixels in your phone, use the 120 million pixels in your eyes.
Rely on the mix of wonderful smells, the warmth of the sun on your skin, the taste of your new favorite cocktail.
Doing so will lead to remembering moods, emotions, and feelings experienced at the time.
“When we watch something from behind a lens, we’re not truly living and sensing the experience,” Professor Spence told the Mirror.
“Smartphones can prevent us from creating fully-fledged memories.”
Where should you begin?
Capturing memories through art doesn’t always have to be exactly what you see either.
Like Picasso, Pollock, and Matisse, you can interpret what you see.
Think about the colors of fragrances, the look of food opposed to just the taste, the feel of the sand on your skin.
This is a way to ensure certain smells, taste and sound transport you back to your vacation.
So, put your phone back in your beach bag, grab a pencil and paper, and create your memories.
Trust us, your friends will be more interested in seeing these than 200 shots of your feet in the sand.
The post Taking pictures could be ruining your vacation, here’s why appeared first on Travel Wire Asia.
Source: travelwireasia.com