{"id":72243,"date":"2019-08-02T17:04:13","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T00:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=72243"},"modified":"2025-11-21T07:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T15:56:37","slug":"rei-presents-in-our-nature-is-photography-ruining-the-outdoors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/rei-presents-in-our-nature-is-photography-ruining-the-outdoors","title":{"rendered":"Geotagging and Social Media in Our Modern Age of Conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a co-op, we believe that a life outdoors is a life well lived. We\u2019re dedicated to protecting and advocating for the lands we love, and that starts with understanding the macro issues and trends that impact these outdoor places and the people who recreate in them. The “In Our Nature” series is designed to help us all become more informed and active stewards of the environment. Have a topic you\u2019d like us to explore? Let us know in the comments below.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Editor’s<\/em> note<\/em>:\u00a0Related to the questions posed in the video above, the Co-op Journal was interested in unpacking the conversation around geotagging and social media, specifically. In the space below, writer Katie Bou\u00e9 explores both sides of the debate. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The first outdoor place I ever geotagged was Chester Frost Campground in Tennessee on June 23, 2012. It\u2019s a\u00a0<\/span>tagged photo\u00a0<\/span><\/a>of camp food\u2014a sloppy bowl of quinoa framed against my Coleman stove with a sliver of the campground in the background. Until that post, I\u2019d only ever tagged photos of climbing gyms and restaurants on Instagram, despite the fact that most of my photos were of outdoor pursuits. In those days, Instagram had a feature that showed you a map of every spot you\u2019d geotagged. I started using the feature to populate my map and create a visual collection of all the places I\u2019d traveled. In 2016, Instagram nixed the photo map feature\u2013but my habit of geotagging stuck.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019re talking about geotagging\u2014tags that use location services like the global positioning system (GPS) and satellite positioning on your phone to create a piece of data linking to a specific spot. In recent years, the practice of geotagging photographs on social media has sparked a fierce debate. On one side, concerned parties say that tagged photos are inspiring more people to visit public lands than ever before, leading to the overcrowding and destruction of fragile places. On the other side, supporters argue that geotags make the outdoors more accessible and can be a tool to empower the next generation of outdoor advocates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Geotagging and social media<\/b><\/h4>\n

When it comes to platforms like Instagram, the social media experts at <\/span>Sprout Social<\/span><\/a> define a geotag as \u201cthe specific location, down to the latitude and longitude, of where you\u2019ve stored your Instagram content.\u201d Curious about the impact geotags were having on social media users, in 2014, <\/span>Sprout conducted a study among Instagrammers<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that showed that social posts with a geotag received 79 percent more engagement (including likes, comments and re-shares) than posts without.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the desire for likes and new followers, social media may impact the way we schedule our time outside. In a 2017 <\/span>Expedia travel survey<\/span><\/a>, for instance, 30 percent of Americans surveyed said they were influenced by social media when booking a trip. The following year, the National Park Service recorded more than <\/span>318 million visits<\/span><\/a>, and multiple reports show visitors to public lands are contributing to <\/span>overcrowding<\/span><\/a> on popular trails. Could geotagging be the culprit?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

This question has led some to protest the use of geotags on social media when it comes to recreation. Meanwhile, others have pushed back, arguing that geotags increase access, and that protesting them is a form of gatekeeping intended to reserve outdoor locations for elite recreationists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But while people come down on either side of the debate, the truth is that there isn\u2019t conclusive data to suggest that geotagging is responsible for overuse of our nation\u2019s public lands and outdoor places.<\/span><\/p>\n

Running the numbers<\/b><\/h4>\n

Early attempts to identify how social media influences recreation have proven inconclusive. An organization leading this work in the Adirondack Mountains, the Adirondack Council<\/a>, used an 11-question <\/span>survey<\/span><\/a> to assess decision-making among 1,004 hikers in New York\u2019s High Peaks region in 2018.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The results, which relied on self-reports, revealed that social media wasn\u2019t a primary motivator for hikers when choosing where to recreate: Fewer than 50 survey respondents cited their social feeds as a source of inspiration, whereas more than 600 stated they\u2019d set out in search of a good view. Though social platforms may not have been directly responsible for these hikers hitting the trail, it\u2019s worth pondering: How many snapped a photo or shared an Instagram story at the summit?<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary Godnick, a marketing and development assistant for the Adirondack Council, said she was surprised by the results.<\/span>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>Out of everyone surveyed, the least amount of respondents said they were motivated to pick that specific hike to share it on social media,\u201d she observed. \u201cHowever, most participants selected a hike with a view, and we know the Adirondack hiking community is very active on social media.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Godnick said the council plans its data collection to get at the answers to questions like: <\/span>\u201cWhat platforms and information are people using to plan their trips to the Adirondacks? Who is providing the information [and] what Leave No Trace, safety and other information is available?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

More research is needed to understand how geotagged photos may contribute to people’s perception of wild places. During an interview for this piece, representatives from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (LNT)<\/a>, a nonprofit that teaches people to spend time outdoors responsibly, also shared plans for a social media research study in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The good, the bad and the geotag<\/b><\/h4>\n

The side effects of geotags and geolocation have been around for as long as the tools themselves. Plain and simple: geotags publicize your whereabouts\u2014information you may or may not want others to have.<\/span>\u00a0I stopped posting my geotags in real-time in 2016 after a well-intentioned follower found my vehicle and left a note at a trailhead I had tagged while trail-running. What if that person hadn\u2019t had my best interests in mind? Someone potentially wanting to cause me harm had the same level of access to my location.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked why she doesn\u2019t use geotags, Brianna Madia, a full-time traveler with more than 200,000 Instagram followers and a very recognizable vehicle, told me, \u201cI grew up in a time when you didn\u2019t tell strangers on the internet where you were. I\u2019m not going to draw a map on Instagram showing people how to find me in the middle of nowhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

But the practice has its upsides, too.\u00a0Tags can make information about a place more accessible, and help educate recreationists about the lineage of a place. In 2017, <\/span>Natives Outdoors<\/span><\/a> founder Len Necefer started a <\/span>geotagging movement<\/span><\/a> to raise awareness about the ancestral names of outdoor landmarks. Now, thanks to Necefer, recreationists can see the Indigenous place names of popular destinations tagged on social media.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Scientists are also\u00a0<\/span>beginning to investigate<\/span><\/a> how geotagged photos can be used for good, analyzing visitor behavior to aid in the development of national parks. Following a 2016 <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> near Turkey Mountain in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, researchers recommended the installation of camera windows designed to encourage visitors to photograph and post about trail conditions. On Turkey Mountain and elsewhere, tagged trail records could boost safety on public lands, especially in areas prone to heavy snow and flooding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More tools to find public land means greater accessibility. And the more people who access and fall in love with our public lands, the more outdoor advocates we\u2019ll have to help protect those places.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rising tension<\/b><\/h4>\n

In 2018, the debate around geotagging and social media reached the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, inspiring the advocacy group to publish a <\/span>blog post<\/span><\/a> offering guidance about geotagging specific outdoor places on social platforms. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe encourage outdoor enthusiasts to stop and think about their actions and the potential consequences of posting pictures, GPS data, detailed maps, etc. to social media,\u201d the group advised. But recreationists questioned the directive, with some suggesting the guidelines contribute to a culture of gatekeeping that does little to break down barriers to access and inclusion on public lands.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On May 20, 2019, <\/span>Leave No Trace updated its guidance<\/span> <\/a>to read: “Leave No Trace is a spectrum and there are no rights or wrongs. It\u2019s a framework for making good decisions about enjoying the outdoors responsibly, regardless of how one chooses to do so. If outdoor enthusiasts stop and think about the potential impacts and associated consequences of a particular action, it can go a long way towards ensuring protection of our shared outdoor spaces.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Executive Director Dana Watts, the group doesn\u2019t have an official stance on geotagging. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLeave No Trace\u2019s social media guidance encapsulates our approach to geotagging today,\u201d she said. \u201cGeotagging is an ever-changing technology in the outdoors and can be a great conduit to share Leave No Trace information.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about the pushback Leave No Trace received about its social media guidance, Dean Ronzoni, the director of corporate development for LNT, and Aisla Walsh, who serves as the organization’s development and communications director, said they plan to continue to develop Leave No Trace guidance accordingly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur role is to provide the best science and to develop a skills-based framework to support the science,\u201d Watts later affirmed in an official statement.\u201cThere still isn\u2019t a lot of research that tracks the direct environmental impacts of geotagging.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The geotagging conversation poses big questions without definitive answers. So what can recreationists do to address concerns about the way our digital lifestyles affect our favorite outdoor places?<\/span><\/p>\n

We have the power to shift the narrative and take accountability for the way we share on social media. Spreading information and stewardship awareness is a key tool at our digital disposal. Here are some actions you can take\u2014based on my own experience as a social media manager and advocate in the outdoor space, as well as wisdom gleaned through interviews with other experts in the field:<\/span><\/p>\n