People say the world is shrinking, thanks to cellphones and the Internet. A cellphone or a computer is not an advantage when traveling. It's a distraction. I think being disconnected, truly remote, forces you to understand the idea of distance and to try to understand the culture. I don't think it's a virtue to stay connected during a vacation.
People travel as a form of one-upmanship.
To me, it's not travel. It's an idealized version of home. But after travel, you need a holiday. I often go to nice places. I don't criticize that.