When is personal info shared in a travel article “too much” ? Do you love to read exciting travel articles about your bucket list destinations? What about places you have never heard of, yet the article fuels your desire to visit there? How do you feel about writers who share lots of personal information such as age, race, disabilities, or financial matters? When does that seem like too much?
WHICH INFO IS MOST HELPFUL?
A good travel article should help you discover tons of great reasons to start planning a trip to a new-to-you location. Of course, you want to know about the food, lodging, and attractions. But do you want to know the profile of the average visitor? Do you need or want to know whether the destination is easily accessible for those who use a cane or a wheelchair? Do you hope to learn the full range of room prices, from budget to luxury?
Consider this scenario; an over-60 female travel writer courageously keeps exploring despite battling osteoarthritis, macular degeneration, and anxiety. (For those who don’t know, that means she has bad knees, failing vision, and occasional panic attacks.) Can a good travel writer be authentic without oversharing? Should this type of travel writer share tips for others who may have the same issues?
Tips from her may include which cobblestone streets to avoid or which restaurants are too dimly lit to even read the menu. Also, travelers may find it helpful to know how long it takes to drive from the most touristy area to the area with the largest number of hotels. I am convinced that sharing in a helpful way is fine, as opposed to simply sharing a sob story which may have little to nothing to do with helping others. I would love to know your opinions on when it becomes too much personal info in a travel article.
SHOULD SOME TOPICS BE EXCLUDED?
Certainly, travel tips are meant to be quite helpful for others. Let me state a personal pet peeve here. I dislike writers who share too much info about their religion or politics. There, I said it! The two problems are that (1.) those topics are not travel tips, and (2.) people are too easily offended. Even wishing others a Merry Christmas or Happy Easter has gotten rude comments sent my way. Now I find it best to avoid statements which may be argumentative or controversial. As the lovable Lorax might suggest, proper respect for the environment and all living creatures IS helpfulness without oversharing.
How do you decide whether there is too much personal info in a travel article? Have there been times when you found that so irritating that you did not finish the article? On the other hand, have there been times when the disclosed information proved to be helpful?
EAGER TO SEE YOUR COMMENTS
The questions I have posed do NEED to be answered. Dang, y’all, my hope is that YOU will leave your carefully considered COMMENTS that kindly share your real thoughts about how or why a writer should disclose personal information. That’s it. Now it is your turn to figure out the perfect amount of info you would like to share!
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