There she is, sat in the corner. She’s been there for hours. Only getting up to use the toilet, or to order a drink at the hostel bar. The barman looks at her sympathetically and says “aren’t you lonely”? “why don’t you talk to people here, and have fun”. “I will” she says. “Later”.
She returns to her corner, which she has made comfortable, with additional cushions. Surrounded by various electronic items, and devices which get plugged in and out at various times. She sits motionless. Staring at the screen, then suddenly, inspiration, and she frantically begins typing.
That’s me. I’m that girl. I’m that travel blogger, and a barman asked me those questions recently.
Something I’ve been pondering, particularly over the past few weeks is the following:
“Does Travel blogging (whilst travelling) make you unsociable?”
When I first started this blog, it was a bit of fun. It was to keep my family and friends up to date, as I was living and working in New Zealand. Then it got a bit more serious, I became an avid blogger. I merged my content onto a hosted site, and was constantly on all forms of social media (#TTOT anyone?)
I started to connect with other travellers and bloggers, and involved myself in forums, and various other groups. I started to learn more about the business of blogging, and realised that it was a bigger job than I thought, and I’d have to work hard if I wanted to make it work.
This all seemed ok, when I was living in New Zealand, were I had a base, and more time to play around and update my site and content now and again, without interrupting my social life too much.
NB: On the days were I was at home in New Zealand, I’d often sit in the corner of the couch, wrapped in my big red fleece blanket, with my computer. My flatmate referred to this area as the BC – the Blogging Corner. I miss that corner in the World.
Sorry, I digress.
Now is different. Now I am travelling. I am moving to a new location every 5-7 days, or more frequently at times. I am meeting lots of new people, experiencing new things, and enjoying it.
What I am not enjoying, is the guilt that I feel almost every few days, as I glance at the long list in my notepad entitled ‘blogs to write.’ It seems to increase daily, the more I am seeing and doing.
Every now and again, I have an unplanned day, a day were I need some downtime from moving around and adventuring, so I sit down and begin to type .. but I look around me and my fellow travellers are sat at the bar, drinking, playing cards and generally having fun, and I’m there trying to figure out why my site is not loading again, or why the WiFi is being slow.
This has lead me to reflect upon my time as a travel blogger. I wonder why I put myself through this. I think to myself, I am in this beautiful part of the World, I may not be here again, I need to enjoy every moment.
So to answer my question, I think travel blogging, whilst travelling, can make you unsocial, and I’m not sure I like it.
It’s not to say I will stop blogging. I have ways in which I can continue to blog. For example, I have drafted this blog whilst on an 8 hour ferry ride into Laos, and I often draft blogs on planes and buses too.
I just may not be such a frequent writer for a while. Life is for living, and I want to experience everything this trip has to offer.
Are you a travel blogger? What are your tips for travelling and blogging at the same time?
[…] I have already touched on this subject before, and wrote about whether blogging makes you unsocialable. […]
When you travel as a travel blogger, you probably will seem unsocial at times. And even more than other travellers.
But in my mind travelling for fun, and travelling and working – like I do as a travel blogger, is the completely different things, and they can not be compared.
I have been on blogger trips, where I went around sightseeing all day and spending all nights writing, editing photos etc.
But I have also been to travel blogger conferences – and compared to other conferences, the travel bloggers are by far the most social ones.
Does travel blogging make you unsociable? – Sometimes yes, but on the other hand travel bloggers must be some of the most sociable persons, that I have met.
Hi Kenneth,
Thank you for your comment. I totally agree – a lot of travellers I have met are some of the most interesting people.
I think we all need to take a break from the laptop and social media when we travel!
[…] written about how blogging can make you unsocial, the Korean (and now the World’s) love of technology and how to have a socal media free […]
Just came around this page and find it quite interesting. I am always trying to enjoy travelling as much as I can. Then when it is raining or I need time off from people then I sit in the corner and write on my blog. Sometimes it is once a week and other times it is once per third week. I don’t think I loose readers by doing so, if I do perhaps they weren’t the kind of readers I wanted anyway 😉
Tine recently posted…Rejseguide: Must see seværdigheder i London
[…] made a song and dance about giving up on social media. In part, I agree with her. Last year I wrote about how I felt unsociable, as a travel blogger. I agree that living in the bubble of social media creates a ‘like mentality’ and can […]
What I do is take “office time” when I tarvel.
I work as a freelancer in tourism and I make a living from my travels so when I am pissed offf that I need to take office time then I look at the alternative which is going home a few months a year to do some dreadful job in order to save up money for the next trip and then office time is suddenly not so bad
We are going through this same thing now! Our list of ‘blogs to write’ is now 2 pages long and we struggle with the thought of going out to explore the next place until we can start attacking the list. We house sit often which helps. We are now on a 3 week house sit where we promised to catch up on our work before adding to the list. It makes it easier some times because we are not surrounded by everyone else who heads out to enjoy the day touring the area – or playing cards and socializing at the bar!
We try to remember we started traveling because we love to travel and not get too caught up with the work we create for ourselves!
Good luck and safe travels!
Cheryl recently posted…How to Spend a Day in Barga, Italy – Photo Essay
Agreed, sometimes I feel better even just posting one entry before going out, and if that means getting up early then so be it. I’m now actually in a very quiet guesthouse with not so many people around or exciting things to do, so I’m using this time to play catch up. House sitting is an awesome way to travel .. I’m definitely keen on that one day.
Take care and happy travelling
Abbi recently posted…Pusat Belia Hostel, Bandar Seri Bagawan, Brunei
Very interesting! I would vote for totally being in the “now” instead of behind a screen. If that costs you readers, so be it… but like you say, you might never be back at a certain place, so you don’t want to spend too much time behind a screen!
Els recently posted…Meet Elena, a Ukranian young woman living in France
Hi Els, yes I’m totally in agreement. I can always write about my experiences when I’m fixed in one place and not travelling so much.
Abbi recently posted…Does travel blogging make you unsociable?