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These will include the ‘classics’ such as sand covered feet against a turquoise sea #beachlife, the crossing of two supposedly champagne glasses in front of a deep orange sunset #VIPlife, and the perfectly captured moment a couple dressed in active wear carrying their baby as they reach the summit of a trek overlooking lush green rainforest #familygoals. Ok, well this may be great for them and we may be somewhat genuinely happy for our friends but seeing these portrayals really does rub in the fact that we are sat in a sweaty office with our only highlight being the sandwich-based meal deal we buy from the local supermarket.

Our recent research sheds light on the tyranny of such idealised holiday snaps through examining the psychological and behavioural impact of those who view them. This research is a collaborative project between Prof Chris Archer-Brown (Falmouth University), Dr Jonas Colliander (Stockholm School of Economics) and Dr Aliette Lambert (University of Exeter), led by myself Dr Ben Marder (University of Edinburgh), recently published in the Journal of Travel Research.

Through interviews and survey responses from over 800 US adult Facebook users our study finds, sadly, that viewing holiday snaps in general makes us sad. In essence, when people are exposed to idealised images of their friends’ holidays, this initiates a psychological process, where people reflect on how their own life is at present compared to what they would ideally like it to be like. Specifically, after seeing a holiday pic, people gauge the amount of exploration/adventure and the level of belonging (romantic, family relations) in their lives. If people feel unfulfilled in either of these areas (which our study finds 90% of individuals are) it is likely seeing such posts will make them feel sad. This sadness may then spur a number of behaviours (termed compensatory consumption), including booking a holiday, escaping into news articles, digital detox, reminiscing through their own past holiday photos or just buying anything else that makes them feel successful in their lives. The likeliness of undertaking each of these behaviours is found to be dependent on the person’s age, gender and how ingrained social media is in their daily lives.

Though the findings of our study are arguably depressing, there is some quite straightforward advice to keep us happier as we scroll through the land of Instaworthy holiday pics. Simply, like we are told to remember pictures of celebrities in magazines are airbrushed to make them look that good, we must remember that our friends holiday posts are the same. Essentially these are carefully choreographed, often filtered, rather unrealistic, depictions of holidays. We may feel a benign envy towards our friends as they sip ‘Champagne’ #Prosecco in an exotic location with their beautiful partner but we must remember we only get to see the absolute highlights. Frankly, Instagram holidays are not as good as they look and your life does not pale in comparison. It is just extremely uncommon for people to post about the lowlights of their trips, such as the dodgy seafood pasta that led to food poisoning, arguments about a partner’s wandering eyes at the pool, the kids that just refuse to behave in restaurants with the crayons, or the 6 days of the week of torrential rain.

If ever we feel sad when we see others having better lives on social media, whether this be on holiday or more broadly, it is crucial that we take this with a pinch of salt and remind ourselves these are just idealised, airbrushed, veneered depictions and are not ‘real life’. Also (for the brave) maybe you could bring a smile by posting a pic of the cockroach in the shower or dubious sausages at the breakfast buffet.