According to a 2024 survey from the Pew Research Center, usage of almost every social media platform among Americans has been on the rise for years, with a considerable growth in the early years of the pandemic. Also rising since the pandemic was the amount of people recreating outdoors. For example, almost 332 million people visited national parks last year, the highest number ever recorded.
Unsurprisingly, there is a link between these factors, according to a study from the National Academy of Sciences. Although almost all National Park Service sites saw an increase in visitors, the majority of the increase came from the most famous parks: Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon. The NPS was not the only agency to experience higher visitation, with the Forest Service seeing a similar increase.
In an interview with Outside Magazine, the study’s author, Casey Wichman, made the case that there is a positive feedback loop between social media and outdoor recreation. With these parks already having higher visitation numbers, it leads to more people posting about them on social media, which encourages more visitors, repeating the loop.
Take Ohio’s most popular state park, nearby Hocking Hills, as an example. On one hand, the park brings in around 3 million visitors per year, which can have an extreme impact on the local ecosystem. On the other hand, according to the 2023 Hocking County economic impact report, tourism alone helped the county have a total economic impact of $270.4 million.
With a county population only slightly larger than the city of Athens, this money — in the form of both revenue for both businesses and public services along with taxes — brings a huge boost to the local economy. But the significant economic impact does come with a great environmental impact.
Three million people also means thousands of cars coming in and out per day, which means higher levels of pollution in high traffic areas. This many visitors also means thousands of people going on, and sometimes off, trails and unfortunately trash. Day after day, the degradation of people leaving designated trails and leaving trash will erode and harm the local ecosystem.
Social media also idealizes outdoor recreation, luring in people with the possibility of an Instagram-worthy photo opportunity. Photos and videos are often edited before posting, cutting out the crowds of other visitors and pushing the saturation to make the place more visually appealing. Take Vinicunca in Peru, better known as Rainbow Mountain, which is often highly saturated in photos.
In these photos and videos on social media platforms, large crowds of people are often edited out to make the area look like pristine wilderness. But of course, when hundreds or thousands of people go to that spot expecting isolation, they will be sadly disappointed to see crowds.
The appeal that social media brings to the outdoors draws in those looking for adventure or maybe the perfect photo opportunity. On the one hand, the economic impact they bring can help to revitalize and sustain a region, with ecotourism being increasingly common. On the other, the idealized wildernesses seen on social media create unattainable expectations and ecological damage to a region.
Ethan Herx is a sophomore studying photojournalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to share your thoughts? Let Ethan know by emailing or tweeting them at eh481422@ohio.edu or @ethanherx.
