I
realize that my life does not involve traveling around the world to
visit glamorous places. I may travel a few hundred miles on vacation
or to see a friend. On a rare occasion, I could take a flight to a
popular tourist location. I probably take a few pictures of me next
to a fountain, near the hotel or with the large mouse the place is
known for having. I'm okay with knowing a trip around the world or
spending months traveling through Europe, the Orient or Caribbean
just doesn't fit well within my budget. I know my friends won't
think less of me. I know they'll still invite me over to their place
for grilled burgers and beer as long as my wife brings her much-loved
pasta salad. It seems there are people who feel so much social
pressure to go on vacation, they've decided to create fake
photographs of themselves visiting different places around the world.
Not only are they willing to show people fake photographs, but
they're also willing to pay to have it done.
“Wow, here is a
picture you at the Iditarod in Alaska wearing shorts and a T-shirt.”
“Yeah, the cold
doesn't really bother me.”
“Oh.”
Here are excerpts from
the story with my valuable insights in italics.
Looking to live the
glamorous, well-traveled life, and stir envy among your
Instagram followers, but can’t afford it? Well now you can
have a photo of yourself digitally altered to make it seem like you
can.
A Nebraska-based
photo-editing service named Fake A Vacation lets users send
in snapshots to have them superimposed onto fake backgrounds. Options
include a sandy beach in Maui, the rushing waters of Niagara Falls,
even the Grand Canyon at sunset.
I can imagine someone
doing something like this in a lot of different places. I'm a bit
shocked that it's a business. I am also a bit surprised it's located
in Nebraska. I thought those Cornhuskers held themselves to a higher
standard. I hope you don't go there to purchase corn and only get a
picture of corn. I would find that upsetting. I wonder if they
would offer people a chance to have a fake background on the
International Space Station. I'm sure you would have to be a master
at inventing stories to pull that one-off.
“You were on the
International Space Station?”
“Sure, here is a
picture of it.”
“Why are you holding
a can of beer and don't have on any astronaut gear?”
“It was my day off.”
“This looks a lot
like when you were at the picnic at our house over the summer.”
“Guess I have a habit
of posing the same way for pictures.”
“Are you sure you
were permitted to have beer on the International Space Station?”
“Of course, I'm of
legal drinking age, why not?”
“Good point.”
“They fake it …
sometimes because the actual vacation is too expensive, so they plan
this way or sometimes they do it to get others envious,” says Tom
Eda, who leads marketing and support for Fake A Vacation, adding that
others have purchased faux vacation pics because they had to cancel
their trip last-minute.
Fake A Vacation was
founded in 2017, simply because there was demand for this service.
There is something very
psychologically unhealthy here. I can't afford to have the vacation
to impress others so I won't go, I'll just buy fake pictures to show
everyone. I know faking an accomplishment is nothing new. This
reminds me of a very formal dance when I was in college. One guy
couldn't get a date, so he put a girl's sweater on the back o a chair
and kept telling everyone his date was in the bathroom. I once saw
someone driving a rather nice car. They told me all about it and
even took me on a drive. I found out later it was owned by a friend
visiting their parents. It just seems technology has been invented
to make this sort of thing easier to pull off. Faking vacations,
faking resumes, faking social media, I suppose the market of services
to help delusional losers fake their way to social acceptance could
be expanding.
Customers order their
photo packages online; once it’s processed, they receive a link to
send in photos. Fake A Vacation staff will suggest attire to wear in
the pictures, which are then superimposed onto other backgrounds.
Packages start at $19 and are processed within three business days.
I like how the business
covers every aspect of the experience of creating a fraud. Details
are important, and I can just imagine you wouldn't want to wear the
wrong clothes to create a phony photograph. I do wonder why they
can't just superimpose a person's head on another person's body in a
popular vacation spot. This could make their customers appear to be
on a vacation they can't afford with a body they don't have. I say
if you're going to fabricate a vacation, make certain nothing is
real.
Here is a link to the
story.
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If you think THIS is a
little funny. Check out my book
The Longer You Live The Older You
Get
Or my other one
I Speak Cursive Like a
Baby Boomer
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