On Monetizing #vanlife

By Quyen Le

Before Social Media became a part of our daily consumption, the commercialization of certain lifestyles was something that marketers did to sell products. If you identified with being an outdoors person, you would shop at REI, Patagonia, the Northface, whichever company that had products for your lifestyle. With Social Media, influencers not only sell products but also they are selling their life and wanting people to support them through Patreon, YouTube, Instagram, etc. #vanlife is one of the most popular lifestyle hashtags on Instagram so much so that the New York Times had several articles on it in the last few years with the latest about the camping ski culture in the PNW. It is not lost on us that we are living that hashtag as we travel to South America on a 2-3 year excursion. We’ve been conscientious about our travels not wanting to commercialize the way we live and see the world. Though, I understand why people do it. We live in a capitalistic system, afterall, and when you are young and without wealth, why not monetize the life you live in order to live it.

However, on another level there is something missing when freedom and travel become work. When I post something on Instagram I find myself checking for likes and the instant high I get when I receive them. And because of that I find myself thinking about my posts and stories, how to get more out there. Social media is addictive. So with these lifestyles that seem carefree and spontaneous, I wonder if they are. Often they are highly curated, the shot of someone looking at a beautiful scenery, the butt shot of an attractive woman lying on her perfectly  disheveled bed with an enviable view of a sunset or another shot of a woman in yoga pants having just climbed a cliff. I’ve seen influencers on my hikes take these photos and what I’ve noticed is how not in the moment they are. The majestic landscape becomes a backdrop for them to advertise their lifestyle or themselves. It’s not about sharing. It is about the ego, the addiction for likes, for more attention. And I guess this is something that I find quite sad about this time in the world. The connection we think we are getting from social media is just a facade. More and more, I find people using it to brag or to highlight themselves. I think it can be used differently to make real connections to really share one’s experiences of travel, adventures, and other things that make life meaningful to us. But often times those who live the #vanlife are doing so because they look cool doing it and can monetize it to keep them going.