Study: Social Media Not to Blame for Park Crowding

OREGON STATE-With the rise of social media, we’ve been hearing more headlines about over-tourism at Instagrammable locations but a new Oregon State study says that there might not be so much to that.

OSU says except for a modest increase in visitors at a small percentage of iconic locations, Instagram content can’t be to blame for more tourist traffic on public lands. The research used 18 years of Oregon State Park data and combined that with geotag posts on Instagram and their engagement such as volume of likes and comments.

Geotagging means adding your location to the post. The study showed that viral content was only accountable for about a 4% increase in traffic, in only four of Oregon’s 50 state parks. Those included Silver Falls, Smith Rock, Oswald West, and Ecola State Parks.

However, they don’t deny parks are getting busier, as used as public lands are experiencing a big bump in visits since the 2010.