Consuming vs having experiences: Is it really that different?
By: Evelien Ai
Tags: Travel, Value Creation, Life Lessons, Experience Economy, Consumerism

Me in San Cristóbal de las Casas

Going on a long-term trip and backpacking the first three months of it, staying in hostels, really made me question the way we idealise “experiences” as opposed to “consuming”. Is there really much of a difference? Can experiences not be “consumed” in the same way possessions can, and with the same (negative) effects?

It was especially in San Cristóbal de las Casas, one of my favourite places in Mexico, that I started wondering this. I had already been backpacking for a few months and had gotten bored of seeing the umpteenth church, going on another walking tour, and stuffing myself again with way too much food.

And that while San Cristóbal seemed to be the place of guided tours: the Sumidero canyon to the west, the El Chiflon waterfalls to the east, and the Palenque ruins to the north, and a number of indigenous villages with their own regional customs. There’s a lot to see in Chiapas, the state where San Cristóbal is located.

But while I refused to go on any more tours, being done with sitting in crammed buses for hours, almost all the people I met in the hostel just came for these tours. After that many of them concluded they had “seen it all”, and continued to Palenque or Guatemala.

By that time I had also already met plenty of travellers who said they wanted to have certain countries “done” within a month. Which sounded a bit strange and surreal to me… “They talk about countries like they talk about bed partners” a fellow traveller of mine phrased it poignantly.

This really made me wonder whether all these travellers, who were priding themselves on being so open-minded, exploring the world and gathering “experiences” rather than “possessions”, were really acting that much differently from people back home who are buying homes and cars. As just like the cars, these experiences seemed to come pre-packaged, optimised for enjoyment and output in the form of some fancy photos to post on your Instagram account…

Why does this matter?

You could say “who cares? Just let them be! If they want to do all these tours and hurry through a country like that..” But I believe there are some real caveats to this tendency, and they’re the same as with the “traditional” consumerist society:

1. In the end it’s still consuming, with all its negative effects.

Consuming usually takes away, without adding little (if anything).

Like with the Sumidero canyon tour: you’re being driven to the canyons, and race through it with a motorboat, only briefly stopping for an Instagram shoot. It’s polluting to the environment, and in several ways. There’s even a part of the canyon where you’re floating in a sea of plastic! It might not be just due to tourism, but it sure isn’t helping…

But isn’t it helping local people? Well, I know by now enough to know that’s unlikely, especially for the people who will feel the consequences the most, namely the poor indigenous people of Chiapas…

2. Just like with gathering possessions, consuming experiences leaves many people insatiable, always looking for their next “hit”.

Heard of the term “travel fatigue”? When you’ve seen so many new things in such a short time period, that you cease to be impressed by anything. It happened to me (“Oh, another gorgeous cathedral, another impressive ruin..”), and it happens to plenty of other travellers as well.

Some speed up, seeing it as a signal that they’re done with a place and need to move on. But does that help? Aren’t they just looking for their next hit, never satisfied for long with what they have? And does it truly make them happy in the long run? I really doubt it, and have seen many harried travellers on my trip who seemingly fell into that trap.

3. It can reduce (local) people to mere “sightseeing objects”.

This is one of the things I might find the most pernicious. I’m seriously doubting whether travelling in this way makes one more open-minded towards others, or actually less. Why?

Because, like with the indigenous village of Chomula, their culture again becomes something to be consumed. But without getting to actually know the people, I think there’s the risk of not seeing them as fellow human beings. Instead they become this “exotic folk”, far removed from our own.

I also noticed the tendency amongst travellers to see themselves as more open-minded and tolerant after taking one of these trips, and then see that as an excuse to act like total bigots afterwards? To be honest, I noticed that in myself as well. It’s too easy to forget that you’re a guest in another country, and have to remain respectful.

What is the alternative?

So if I think the current “experience economy” is not much better than the “traditional consumerist” one, what do I think would be a better alternative? What should we instead focus on?

In “normal life” as well as when being on the road, I found the following ways to work well for me:

1. Focus on creating value & the attainment of “flow experiences”.

Creating value by making things, by helping people, by adding to the world rather than taking away from it. It doesn’t just has a net positive effect on the environment, but will also help you to develop your skills and yourself as a person. And it just feels damn good! Really, when you feel shit, focus on how you can help others. It’s one of the best ways to get out of a slump in my experience.

And if you go for experiences, go for as the famous psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (yes try pronouncing that) phrases it “flow experiences”, where you’re so caught up in what you’re doing that you stop being aware of yourself. It’s an experience that has been shown to truly contribute towards happiness, and it never gets boring. Rather, the more you train and experience this state, the better it gets.

How to do this while travelling: Focus on learning new skills that you can apply & practise on the road, like learning a new language, writing, or photography.

2. Learn to re-appreciate the senses.

I find it funny that when a VR game gets more realistic, we tend to find it fascinating. While we tend to find “real life” boring… Really, I think it’s because we stopped appreciating the rich sensory experience that everyday life gives us.

That’s why I think key to getting out of the consuming rat-race is also to re-appreciate what one already has. What has helped me a huge deal to do so are:

Becoming more mindful of ones experiences & really immersing oneself in the moment. By practising meditation, yoga, or just really savouring that delicious meal or paying attention to your surroundings when going for a stroll.

Taking up hobbies that make you pay closer attention to what’s around you. Like taking up street photography, field recordings (to make music with!), or draw a beautiful flower you find in the wild. Anything that makes you aware of those details again that you’d otherwise overlook.

3. Become intensely curious about the world around you (again).

Like the saying goes: “Fact is stranger than fiction.”

Allow yourself to become that little child again that’s fascinated by everything, by reading up on history, watching documentaries, talking to people on the streets. Especially when travelling, there’s so much to discover about & learn from the place you’re in. Don’t miss out on that opportunity!

Why I think this doesn’t just apply to travelling but also to life

I found consuming on the road isn’t that much different from consuming back home. And I think the solutions aren’t that much different either.

Doing the things I just mentioned enabled me to not just enjoy my trip more, but also to give back to the country I was visiting, even if it was just a bit. As I mentioned in another post, it’s one of the reasons why I decided to leave the backpacking trail for now, settling in one place for a bit and focussing on projects & skills development.

It did however require saying no to the pressure of “making this the trip of my life”, inviting the possibility of missing out on great experiences and amazing people I could have met. FOMO is a real thing when on the road. But in the end there will be way more things you won’t do than you will, which makes it that much more important to figure out what truly matters to you & makes you fulfilled!

My advice for doing so: surround yourself with other people who are focusing on giving and creating value. Who are doing cool projects you might be able to contribute to (like I did during my trip). Go pick up a hobby that enables you to develop skills you’ve been wanting to develop for a long time.

And realise that while getting started might be hard, and it can be tempting to go for the quick high you get from a “consumed experience” (and a popular Instagram post), creating over consuming really pays off over time. As it just keeps getting better the more you do it, and gives itself back in so many ways.