Lawrence KilliumYou’ve heard people say that where they live or where they’ve visited is too pretty for words, but have you ever heard of people thinking it’s too pretty to photograph?
Well, the Swiss village of Bergün/Bravuogn has decided that they want to make taking photos illegal for the dumbest reason possible.
Why, you might ask? They believe that when people take photos and upload them to social media, they make other people miserable.
“It is scientifically proven that beautiful holiday photos on social media make the viewer unhappy because they cannot be there themselves,” said a statement.
The village is implementing a 5 Swiss Franc (around five-ish dollar/euro/pound) fine on anyone who is caught breaking the new law.
“Bergün/Bravuogn is beautiful,” stated the Mayor, Peter Nicolay. “We don’t want to make people outside the community unhappy by sharing social media photos of our picturesque landscape, and we cordially invite you to visit Bergün to experience it for yourself.
“I am very pleased that the inhabitants of Bergün have the happiness of all people at heart. That makes me very proud.”
I think we’ve found the village idiot…
So I’m supposed to hear or care about your tiny village without ever seen a photograph from it?
Dude, that’s not how it works. I’ve literally planned stops on a trip based on photos I’ve seen on the UNILAD Adventure or Lonely Planet Facebook pages. I may get a little jealous, but that just intensifies my desire to travel. I hope tourism isn’t a big part of your village’s economy, or you’ve probably just doomed everyone who lives there.
I mean, this is obviously a marketing stunt, but you’re still gambling with the livelihoods everyone in your village.
“In the background of course the idea is that everyone is talking about Bergün,” he told The Local. “So it’s a combination of both – we made the law and also there’s some marketing [aim] behind it.”
“The whole story is not finished yet. By Friday evening everyone will know what the idea was behind this law. It’s a surprise.”
They even went as far as removing all the photos of the village from their Facebook and Twitter accounts, and have said they intend to remove them from the village’s website as well.
There have been other examples of similar bans, such as the one in Mumbai, but they typically had a purpose.
From The Independent:
People could be warned against taking ‘selfies’ in multiple tourist locations around Mumbai in an effort to prevent accidents and deaths.
Sixteen areas, including the Marine Drive promenade and Girgaum Chowpatty beach, have been identified by the city’s police force as dangerous spots for people to take photos of themselves.
Dhananjay Kulkarni, a spokesperson for Mumbai Police, told the BBC: “The police will now approach the city’s municipality to prevent accidents at such spots due to people taking selfies.”
Mr Kulkarni said “the municipality may… install warnings”. And, as some of the locations are near water, life guards may be deployed.
While that’s still really dumb to me, at least there’s a point!
H/T: The Independent
