In this blog I would like to share the results of the research I carried out for the course Context Related Research. In a previous blog I already shared the literature review about technology and positive emotions and the research questions that came out of this. Here under you will find the answers to these questions. Happy reading!
1. Is sharing travel experiences through social media related to positive emotions? Quantitive analysis showed a positive relationship between posting on social media and positive emotions.
In this case it could be concluded that sharing travel experiences through social media contributes to positive feelings of the tourist. However, whether technology use on holiday only contributes positively to tourist experiences, is highly debated. Previous research of Germann Molz & Paris (2013) and Hannam et al. (2014) demonstrated that mobile technology can also decrease tourist experiences.
By means of interviews during this study, an attempt was made to elucidate this matter. Qualitative analysis confirmed the findings of the quantitive analysis, as both respondents indicated that sharing on social media made them happy and it even would make others happy as well. Nonetheless, qualitative research made clear that the timing of sharing travel experiences is of high importance. Although sharing on social media increases travel experiences, it was mentioned that an experience would be decreased when the sharing takes place while the experience isnāt over yet. The respondent argued that technology use during the experience would be a distraction and it would make a tourist notice less of the destination. In conclusion, sharing travel experiences through social media makes both the tourist happy, as well as others at home, provided that sharing the experience is not at the expense of the actual experience itself.
2. What makes tourists want to share their travel experience on social media? Previous studies already showed multiple motives for sharing experiences on social media. Motivations varied from self-centered, such as gaining respect and feeling better about yourself, to community-related motivations like social norms and feelings of solidarity (Munar & Jacobsen, 2014). However, qualitative research revealed that the main reason for sharing travel experiences through social media was to share happiness. The respondents wanted to let others know they were having a good time but also wanted to transfer this happiness to others. A reason for sharing this happiness was partly clarified by the desire to excite and influence others. By showing own positive experiences, the respondents want to let others know the possibilities they have for experiencing the same thing. The latter phenomena seems to be a common thing, as Zeng & Gerritsen (2014) have argued in the past about shared information on social media becoming an importance source for tourists during travel planning and it can even affect touristsā decisions. An addition to this theory is the quote from one respondent, stating that the source of information
can make a slight difference, as social media posts from acquaintances (like friends) seem to have more value and credibility.
3. What type of content do tourists share on social media while on holiday? Tourists seem to share mostly visual content. Multiple authors discussed the popularity of sharing photographs (Munar & Jacobsen, 2013; Konijn et al., 2016) as social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram make it very easy for tourists to share their emotions through visual content (Zeng & Gerritsen, 2014). This is exactly what became clear through the qualitative research of this study, as both respondents indicated to share mostly photographs, both on Facebook and Instagram. When this matter was discussed more in detail during the interview, it became clear that photographs become a memory of the experience and have a strong personal influence. Sharing photographs was compared to having a personal photo album on the internet and it didnāt matter if other people liked the pictures or not, since the pictures were made from an intrinsic motivation. The personal influence was also revealed by the need to be in the picture yourself, as this way not āanyoneā could have taken that. This seems to make the photograph not only a memory, but also some kind of evidence for the tourist to show he or she has been somewhere themselves. Lastly, by means of the interviews it also became clear that tourists want to share mainly positive experiences and negative experiences were mostly ignored when it comes to sharing on social media. This harmonises with the fact that one of the main reasons for sharing travel experiences on social media is sharing happiness in the first place.
In conclusion, tourists just want to show others that they are having a good time and by doing so it has a positive effect on their own positive emotions as well as on others. Moreover, by sharing their happiness tourists want to influence other people to take action and to experience the same things they consider as positive experiences. By means of sharing photographs, memories are made and by including themselves in the picture a personal touch is given to the experience. These pictures then are shared, mainly through Facebook and Instagram, coming from an intrinsic motivation. Namely, wether other people like the picture or not doesnāt seem to matter. Nonetheless, tourist seem to keep in mind that others arenāt interested in negative experiences and therefore only the āhappinessā is being shared through social media.
References
Germann Molz, J., & Paris, C. (2013). The social affordances of flashpacking: Exploring the mobility nexus of travel and communication. In Mobilities (pp. 173-192).
Hannam, K., Butler, G., & Paris, C. (2014). Developments and key issues in tourism mobilities. In Annals of Tourism Research (pp. 171-185).
Konijn, E., Sluimer, N., & Mitas, O. (2016). Click to share: Patterns in Tourist Photography and sharing. In International Journal of Tourism Research. Breda, Wageningen: John Wiley & Sons
Munar, A. M., & Jacobsen, J. K. (2014). Motivations for sharing tourism experiences through social media. In Tourism Management. Elsevier.
Munar, A. M., & Jacobsen, J. K. (2013). Trust and involvement in tourism social media and web- based travel information sources. In Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism (pp. 1-19).
Zeng, B., & Gerritsen, R. (2014). What do we know about social media in tourism? A review. In Tourism Management Perspectives. Elsevier.
