The link between virtual tourism and well-being
Illustrated animation by Lizzie Lomax
by Elizabeth Michaelson Monaghan
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I’ve always loved old buildings. Nature is beautiful, sure, but it’s very… vast. Well-cared for forests, mountains, and oceans display few signs of humanity, which is an absence I find isolating. A lifelong city dweller, I feel safest and most comfortable in well-populated areas. On a narrow street lined with houses, or in a public square where people have congregated for hundreds or thousands of years, human history feels tangible and fascinating.
And while we hear a lot about how time spent in nature can benefit our health, built environments can promote well-being, too. For instance, regular trips to Stonehenge might help to improve well-being in people with various mental health conditions, and visits to historic sites can promote restoration (the recovery of attention resources and reduction of stress).
In fact, visitors to historic sites report better subjective well-being — they’re more satisfied with their lives, health, and amount of leisure time.
Why?
Places have meaning
“This relationship may be a product of the cultural value of historic sites, that is the value obtained from the intellectual, moral, and artistic aspects of the historic site,” notes study coauthor Daniel Wheatley, PhD, a reader in the Department of Management at the University of Birmingham in the UK. While it’s possible that people with higher levels of subjective well-being are more likely to have the disposable income and access to transport needed to visit historic sites, “our research did control for income and several other demographic differences,” Wheatley states. Historic sites “may provide an individual with a level of context and help them to relate to their surroundings and/or connect with other people, as well as offer a more direct positive well-being effect derived from their beauty or historic importance.”
Additionally, some visitors to historic spaces seek “a deeper experience at tourist sites and a desire to make a personal connection with the people and spirit of earlier times.” And they may find it: Visits to tourist attractions (including historic sites) and encounters with art and artifacts can prompt awe — a positive emotion characterized by wonder, respect, and fear. As Thompson M. Mayes of the National Trust for Historic Preservation explains in Why Old Places Matter, “Old buildings help us understand deeper layers of our existence… architecture, with the mark of time, helps us become more aware of ourselves, our past ideals, our place in the long line of civilization and the possibilities for a better future.”
Finally, we tend to find historic sites aesthetically appealing: Residents of Malaga, Spain, and Padua, Italy rated “cultural-historical places” as the most attractive in their cities, ranking them even higher than recreational spaces like parks, public squares, and areas providing panoramic views. An appreciation of beauty — including beauty found in the fine arts, architecture, and music — can increase positive emotions.
Digital travel has real-world impact
While it’s not always possible to experience historic spaces in person, virtual visits are available at any time via various websites and apps. Online excursions of course lack the full sensory dimensions of an in-person visit, but do still offer benefits. In a study of simulated walks in Bristol, UK, subjects who watched traffic-free walks on a cobblestoned street in the city’s Old Town, along a historic street that contained greenery, or in a park reported greater happiness/more contentment than those who viewed walks in either a pedestrianized modern environment or a commercial area with traffic. In fact, subjects who viewed walks in the historic setting with greenery reported levels of happiness, relaxation, and perceived restorativeness “comparable to those in the park.”
The study “confirmed that it doesn’t have to be the real environment to generate a change in affective (feeling or emotional) state,” observes coauthor professor Graham Parkhurst, DPhil, of the University of the West of England. So virtual visits could have an effect, particularly if people use immersive technologies like Google Street View. (Dr. Parkhurst warns that some people find immersive virtual environments disorienting or nauseating, so be sure to proceed with caution and in line with your doctor’s guidance if this applies to you.) Also, it’s possible that any “affective changes may be specifically related to revisiting locations of emotional significance, e.g., returning virtually to locations enjoyed on earlier [in person] vacations.”
At any rate, until you can get to Angkor Wat, you may find a virtual visit satisfying, awe-inspiring, or just plain interesting.
Be an armchair explorer
Some sites and apps offer sophisticated, immersive guided tours, while others are more low-tech explorations, displaying just photos and descriptions.
Here are a few to check out:
Google’s Open Heritage and Street View
UNESCO World Heritage Site Virtual Tours
Alternatively, if you want to dive into a specific site, like Machu Picchu, the Gūr-i Amīr mausoleum, or Stonehenge, you can type the name of the site you want to see plus the words “virtual tour” into a search engine or YouTube.
In a world where jet-setting has become a form of social currency, especially online, we often forget that we can also explore virtually. But we can. And choosing to trot the globe online in this way can help us to learn more about the world and feel better without costing us the money, time, energy, or even emissions of conventional travel.