Have you personally noticed it yourself here? Because travel is supposed to be freeing, yet it just doesn’t exactly hit that way anymore, though. But yeah, at one point, there was still something a little exciting about the whole thing. A train ride felt like a train ride, a flight felt like the beginning of a trip, and people, for the most part, seemed a little more present in what they were doing.
Now it can feel like everybody’s physically going somewhere while mentally staying glued to a screen, and that alone makes the whole experience feel more fried, more tense, and way less enjoyable than it used to be. So what gives here?
Nobody’s Ever Fully Present
And that’s one of the biggest changes, honestly, even if people don’t always say it out loud. So much of modern travel now depends on phones, and okay, that sounds convenient in theory, but not as convenient as you think, however. So, tickets are on phones, boarding passes are on phones, hotel details are on phones, train platform updates are on phones, maps are on phones, translation apps are on phones, restaurant bookings are on phones, and of course, the battery starts dropping, so you have no choice but to be strapped to your phone.
Oh, and you absolutely can’t forget the people side of all of this, too (which is honestly the worst part), because it’s how people specifically behave. So, everyone’s staring down at a screen, walking too slowly, stopping in the middle of foot traffic, blocking aisles, not paying attention, blasting TikToks no one wants to hear, not moving, not noticing they’re in somebody’s way, and then acting irritated when somebody needs to get past. What’s the deal here?
Customer Service has Gone Down
Thankfully, not everywhere, of course, but it still doesn’t take away the fact that it’s a problem. It just seems like theres less consumer protection, and you’re just expected to deal with it, lower your standards, or just be willing to waste money in general, which makes zero sense at all. For example, if a flight gets canceled, you’re legally required to get a new flight; if it’s not until the next day, you’re supposed to get accommodation covered by the airport (but it doesn’t always happen like this, however).
Thankfully, you can at least give yourself a layer of protection like using Generali as travel insurance, but companies won’t put effort unless they’re forced to (and sometimes then they still won’t). Hence, why you need extra layers to keep yourself and your trip going safe and smooth.
Shared Spaces with No Shared Awareness
Oh, and so much entitlement, too. You can’t forget about that. But shared travel used to feel a little more cooperative than this. Now it can feel like a giant test of patience, with everybody tired, overstimulated, overpriced, under-caffeinated, and also deeply attached to their devices. Oh, and the entitlement too, like not wearing headphones, demanding to sit in the seat that you paid for, basically just having main character syndrome and not caring or having any awareness for anyone else.
