PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with CommBank to make your travel dreams a reality. Together, we want you to #DreamFar – and to make that happen we’re giving away three trips to the value of $25K for you and a friend to fulfil your wanderlust ambitions. Keep reading to find out why the travel bug’s always biting before heading to CommBank’s website HERE for further information.
P.TV recently conducted a research survey to find out what’s making you guys tick and 1,240 of you shared your thoughts on topics ranging from home ownership, to employment after graduation. In our opinion, the main take-away finding was that there’s essentially two camps of millennials (AKA us young ones).
One third of those surveyed fell into the group of, what we’re calling, The Goalkickers. People in this category, “Believe their 20s are a time to achieve career goals and set themselves up financially.” In other words, they’re all about hustling – and hustling hard.
The remaining two thirds fell under The Discovers umbrella, and “believe their 20s are a time to travel, chill and find out what they want to do in their lives”.
Travel is, like so totally, the new black. Every man/woman and their Instagram feed are aching to get out of Australia and ~see the world~ as soon as physically (or financially) possible. And while globetrotting’s been a priority for most in the modern era, it’s arguably reached a whole new momentum over the past 10 years.
We got in touch with the brilliant Clinical Psychologist Sally McDougall (whose extensive qualifications you can review on her clinic Mindspace‘s website HERE), to explain the science behind why the travel bug’s biting so viciously – perhaps, more so than ever.
WHY ARE US HUMANS/YOUNGLINGS SO KEEN ON TRAVELLING?
Psychologically we can view most behaviour from the perspective of ‘attachment theory’. If you were lucky enough to have grown up in a securely attached relationship with your main caretaker, you would regard yourself as ok and others as non threatening… you would view your world with a curious, exciting eye – one to be explored, always knowing that home will always be there, accepting you with open arms on your return.
If on the other hand you were insecurely attached to your main caregiver, your view of the world is not that of a safe place and trust in yourself and others does not come easily. Your life may be seen through different prisms.
These prisms can include travel being regarded as a checklist. You are likely to say, ‘I’ve been to Paris, New York, Milan, that makes me important and worthy of respect.’
Another prism could be, I need to find people who love me and care for me and I can care for them. ‘I will work in an African orphanage, a village in Laos’… there is a need to get a sense of being wanted.
IS SOME OF OUR DESIRE TO GTFO RELATED TO A NEED TO ESCAPE OUR SURROUNDINGS?
The most interesting prism is when people find the world and other people dangerous and untrustworthy. These people tend to travel to get some distance from their everyday world. However, they can feel safe amongst strangers. For these people, travel is about distancing due to fear of being controlled or yet abused by others. For them the dilemma is they desperately want some connection, and strangers who speak another language can fulfil that need.
WHY DO WE THINK WE TRAVEL AND KILLING IT ON THE CAREER FRONT ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE?
Again, I draw from attachment theory to offer an explanation for these behaviours. Those who travel may feel that life will last forever, it is there to be explored. They view themselves as international citizens and feel claustrophobic in a corporate work structure. They often couldn’t wait to leave a school system that kept them there too long, without giving them what they wanted.
The career-driven youth are looking for structure to define them. They often signed an imaginary agreement in infancy that said they must be perfect in order to get their needs met. They fit perfectly into the school/university/corporate structure. Travel can be regarded as too unstructured, causing anxiety because there is no personal definition. They can often feel that life is about pressure to perform perfectly yet travelling spontaneously lacks reinforcement that they are on the ‘right’ track.
DO YOU THINK US KIDS ARE MORE MOTIVATED TO ~SEE THE WORLD~ THAN OUR ‘RENTS?
From a psychological perspective, I think those who fit into the securely attached style are more likely to travel in a spontaneous way than their parents. However, there are many other factors that explain why young people travel. These include cheaper fares, greater familiarity with the world beyond due to the media and immigration, and acquaintance who were born overseas. As well, they are disillusioned with the opportunity to obtain the housing and career security that was available to their parents. So why not spend their hard earned cash on travel?
IS TRAVELLING, IN GENERAL, A DECENT THING? AND WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF IT?
It depends on the personality of the individual. If it is to be safe amongst strangers or to feel needed or collect a list of destinations to tell your friends, then these young people will not fully experience the benefit of travel. Travelling is all about experiencing, with curiosity, the amazing differences and beauty that exist in the world. Travel is an essential element in developing tolerance and respect for one another and our environment.
There you have it, guys. Travelling is a goer if you’re exploring our blue marble for the right reasons.
Reading all about getting out there and amongst it has probably gotcha itching for a vay-cay, and, as luck would have it, we’ve got just the solution.
CommBank’s #DreamFar competition will see a few very lucky individuals have, what’ll likely be, the most exciting experience of their lifetime. If you happen to be one of those lucky individuals who win, you’ll score yourself and a mate 1 of 3 trips to the value $25,000 to live out your dreams.
Here’s how to enter:
- Take an original photograph that reflects your dream and where you’d like to travel to experience that dream abroad (e.g. a beautiful snap of a croissant if you want to learn how to make pastry in France).
- In 25 words or less describe, ‘What do you dream of doing and why?’.
- Upload your picture to Instagram with your 25 words or less answer as the caption, as well as tagging #DreamFar and @CommBank.
BEST OF LUCK, O BEAUTIFUL READERS.
For more information about the #DreamFar competition, head to CommBank’s website HERE.
Photo: Fox.
