Earlier this month, authorities in Cap d’Antibes, southern France, imposed a two-week ban on selfies on sections of the popular Garoupe beach in an effort to encourage holidaymakers to enjoy the beautiful scenery of their holiday destination rather than busying themselves taking photos and sharing them on social media to brag to family and friends back home. In the US and the UK, the term ‘selfie’ is increasingly replaced by ‘braggie’, given that its sole purpose is to make other people jealous.
The Garoupe beach authorities took this initiative in response to UK research revealing that one in three British holidaymakers say ‘bragging to people back home’ is one of their favourite pastimes while on holiday. The designated beach sections now feature large signs saying ‘No Braggies Zone’ and depicting the selfie ban. A spokesperson for the beach told Daily Mail: ‘The Garoupe beaches are among the most glamorous and pristine beaches in all of France and we want people to be able to enjoy our exclusive beach in the moment, not spending the majority of their time bragging to their friends and family back home.’
The beach authorities have collaborated with mobile network Three to impose the ban. The company observed a dramatic increase in holiday spam when infiltrating Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, following its recent decision to scrap data roaming fees in sixteen international destinations.
Tom Malleschitz, marketing director at Three, said: ‘The ban is an extreme measure, but one that we think is needed if we’re to motivate people to brag more responsibly abroad and share only the finest photos of their holidays on social media.’
As long as the ban is in place, the ‘No Braggies Zones’ are being patrolled by so-called ‘Holiday Spam Police’ looking out for offenders taking sneaky snaps of themselves. Although it is not known what penalty will be imposed on any offending holidaymakers, I believe the initiative is to be applauded!
