Field of Interest

Current Research

The Instragram Effect - Is social media changing our demand for public land?

The role of social media and its effect on consumer behavior is an emerging field of study. Apps, such as Instagram, expose individuals to new opportunities for recreation by providing location data via hashtags and geotagging. The information is instantaneous and can provide current weather and air quality, as well as aesthetic cues making users aware of specific locations with outstanding natural beauty. Journalists and park managers claim social media, in particular, Instagram, is the cause of the recent rise in visitation throughout U.S. public lands. This paper examines Instagram location indicators (hashtags and geotagging markers) in a reduced form model and influential posts in a distributed lag model of visitation to state parks in Oregon, with particular focus on Smith Rock State Park (SRSP). Results suggest an increase in monthly visitation of 14% can be attributed to the volume of uploaded geotag photos to Instagram. By using a dynamic model with a distributed lagged of influential post, i.e. highly engaging photos, we find evidence suggesting each highly influential post uploaded 4 months prior increases the overall current visitation level by 0.2%. Furthermore, investigation into a pooled fixed effects model of seven parks support contemporaneous impacts of geotagged photos, but suggest influential post effects are park specific. This study contributes to a better understanding of how online behavior directly affects an important economic activity and resource. It also provides a foundation for public land managers to begin to adapt to increased visitation and the emerging social media paradigm.