You should take everything that you see on social media with a grain of salt. Heck, you know what? Bring a salt shaker with you!

What some people don’t realize is that it takes a lot of time, not to mention photo-editing, to take an impressive photo for your Instagram account, say when you’re traveling abroad. A lot of it is staged; very few photos are taken ‘in the moment.’ And these extended photo sessions can be a bit of a headache for the locals, as well as the other tourists.

Redditor u/creatingastorm started up an interesting thread on the r/pettyrevenge subreddit after sharing how they kept interrupting wannabe models’ photoshoots while on holiday. Scroll down for their story, as well as other redditors’ similar experiences. What do you think of this approach, dear Pandas? What do you think of social media influencers monopolizing beautiful locations for their photos? Share your thoughts in the comments.

There are few things more annoying than wannabe social media influencers dominating the area with their lengthy photoshoots

Image credits: Tim Gouw (not the actual photo)

Well, there are those who are fighting back! One person explained how they dealt with these influencers and models while on vacation

Image credits: Blue Bird (not the actual photo)

Image credits: creatingastorm

The author of the post hit the nail on the head when they said that everyone has a right to be there and take pictures. However, the so-called ‘Instagram wannabe models’ “don’t have more of a right than anyone else.”

They were actively dominating the tourist areas for the sake of their social media photoshoots which is why the redditor decided to have some fun and interrupt what they’re doing. The post resonated with a lot of people and went viral. At the time of writing, it had 21.8k upvotes, as other redditors shared their similar experiences with invasive influencers.

There are a variety of reasons why people want to take gorgeous photos to post on their social media accounts. Some travel bloggers actually get paid to do this. Others do this because they genuinely enjoy travel. Others, still, aim to impress their fans and gather an even-larger online following. People are social animals and they enjoy being adored, respected, and looked up to.

As such, some individuals spend huge amounts of time curating their online personas. However, quite a few take it to unhealthy extremes. They want to be seen as extremely attractive. But, often, no matter how much attention you get, it’s never enough. So they might take to photoshopping to the extreme.

A while back, the moderators from the r/Instagramreality subreddit explained to Bored Panda that there’s a universal demand to be loved, desired, and to feel like you belong.

“The harsh, scary truth of the matter for anyone is that the more you resemble what people around you consider universally attractive, the more likely you are to have access to those things in your life,” they told us earlier.

“So, you begin to think, ‘Well, what do I need to change about myself to fit in? How do I become more attractive?’ Based on what magazine covers and many an Instagram Explore page shows you, that image is a tall, long-haired, fair-skinned woman with smooth skin, a slim yet hourglass figure—oh, and don’t forget, the perfect butt. In comes photo editing apps, offering you the chance to finally be her. Even if it’s only online.”

Meanwhile, during another interview, Bored Panda spoke about social media addiction with Nuno Albuquerque, the Head of Treatment for the UK Addiction Treatment Group

“A person can be addicted to anything, but they are only suffering an addiction if whatever it is they are ‘using’ has taken over their lives, and that they as individuals have lost the power of choice, i.e. that they cannot, regardless of how much they want to, stop ‘using’. This is the effect that addiction has, it robs the individual of the ability to stop,” he explained to us.

“Even if that individual is aware of the negative physical, psychological, or financial consequences, they still cannot stop. It is essential to not use the word ‘addiction’ flippantly; if a person is addicted, then they are in need of professional help and support.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, people tended to spend more time on social media while they wre locked down. “Some people turned to social media during the lockdown to stay connected with others, which is really important and actually a healthy approach to take. Where it starts to negatively affect a person is when being on social media consumes them completely, and they no longer want to be present in their actual ‘offline’ day,’” the mental health expert told us.

Here’s what some people had to say after reading the viral post

Quite a few internet users shared their own photobombing stories

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