The Hashtag
#Geotag documented Instagram’s location tagging feature that both enabled travel discovery and destroyed secret spots by directing hordes to fragile locations.
Origins
Instagram added geotags in 2011, allowing users to tag photos with locations. It was discovery gold—search a city or landmark, see what others photographed there, plan your trip accordingly.
But by 2015-2017, the dark side emerged: Instagram geotags sending thousands to locations that couldn’t handle crowds, destroying the very beauty people came to photograph.
Cultural Impact
How geotags transformed travel:
- Instant location discovery (tap a tag, see hundreds of photos)
- Travel planning via Instagram (more than guidebooks)
- “Hidden gems” exposed to masses
- Influencers boosting unknown locations to fame
- Tourism boards using geotags for marketing
Notable geotag disasters:
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming: “Secret” hot springs trampled by Instagram crowds
- Oregon: Punchbowl Falls, Oneonta Gorge overwhelmed, eventually closed
- New Zealand: Wanaka Tree so photographed it needed protection
- Iceland: Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon closed after Justin Bieber music video geotag
- Arizona: Havasupai Falls permit system overwhelmed by Instagram demand
- Scotland: “Hidden” islands like Fairy Glen overrun
The #NoGeotag movement (2017):
- Photographers stopped tagging locations
- “DM for location” became common
- Gatekeeping vs. accessibility debates
- “Leave it how you found it” messaging
- Some parks asking visitors not to geotag
Arguments for geotags:
- Democratizes travel (not just for guidebook readers)
- Boosts local economies
- Celebrates diverse destinations
- Accessibility and inclusion
Arguments against:
- Destroys fragile ecosystems
- Ruins local communities
- Concentrates tourism unsustainably
- Encourages dangerous behavior
- Commodifies sacred/spiritual sites
Park and location responses:
- Asking influencers not to tag specific trails
- Creating “Instagram spots” to concentrate crowds
- Permit systems and reservations
- Some locations removing themselves from Google Maps
- Rangers monitoring popular geotags
By 2020, the tension remained unresolved: geotags as discovery tool vs. destruction mechanism. The feature that connected people to places sometimes loved them to death.