Instagram’s role in youngsters’ travel decision making: How does IG content inspire you to travel in your twenties?

Abstract

This thesis examines how Instagram content influences people in their twenties to travel to destinations. The aim of the study is to achieve a clear view of what type of content catches the interest of young Instagram users. The research questions are; “Is it about the high quality photography/editing skills that make a destination look so appealing?”, ”Are travel trends manipulative and affect the focus group’s decision-making?”, ”Are influencers’ destination suggestions and opinions important to youngsters?”. These research questions together with some theories chosen, complete the purpose of this study. The Cultivation Theory, The Source Credibility Theory and The Selective Exposure Theory have inspired the method of this study. The research is done with the method Surveys in which twenty participants are chosen to take part. These respondents are part of the target group and are asked to give their most honest answers to each question of the survey. The survey contains fifteen questions on the subject and it is anonymous with no time limit. All questions were motivated by the theories of the study, the research questions and the aim. This study mainly concluded that most of nowadays’ youngsters have knowledge on online manipulation and know how to keep their own opinion. It is seen that there are some specific characteristics that indeed drag attention but when it comes to the travel decision-making, our target group is mostly focused on their own interests and feelings.