Unwritten Rules Of "Instagrammable" Travel as a Status Symbol: Visual Analysis of Social Media Posts among Young Middle-Class Adults

It is a well-known fact that consumers demonstrate their status through displaying their consumption and one of the key areas of consumption used to display status is travel. While traditional markers of travel status emphasized destinations, today's status is more often conveyed through particular, often intangible, elements included in how the travel experience is shared. The display of these more intangible and immaterial aspects of travel consumption has developed vis-a-vis the proliferation of social media, which has allowed displaying the manner of travel in more detail but has also changed what status travel means. Our research aims to investigate this evolving nature of travel as a status symbol, particularly focusing on how social media have reshaped the perception of status travel for the young adult middle class consumers. Using visual analysis, we examine 508 travel-related Instagram posts from nine Czech young adult informants who belong to the emerging cosmopolitan class, focusing on the themes and visual strategies used to communicate social status. The analysis identifies four key characteristics essential for "Instagrammable" status travel: immersion in local or authentic culture, absence of crowds, unfamiliar or non-domestic landscapes and active participation in unique experiences. Our findings show that international travel dominates these status displays, with consumers favouring curated posts that emphasize exclusivity and uniqueness. This research highlights how social media have transformed travel into a form of experiential consumption, where the manner of presentation is as important as the travel itself in conveying status. Implications for Central European audience: Young adult consumers increasingly signal status through curated, visually appealing travel experiences on social media, marking a shift from traditional status symbols to experiential consumption. These consumers prioritize authenticity, cultural immersion and exclusivity, constructing an aspirational identity aligning with global trends. Despite the preference of international travel, local destinations and marketers have a unique opportunity to attract this audience by offering experiences that emphasize these values and appeal to their visually driven social media use. Destinations that can capture these elements can better engage a digitally native, image-conscious demographic valuing travel as a form of self-expression and status.