Societal Evolution

À: Jojoone1 · 2 March 2026 à 13:58

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 23 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 637 affichages · Partager

we are now facing the first poorly raised generations whose parents themselves had been poorly raised.

Hello,

I think a good portion of those who frequent forums are already a certain age, or even quite old.

Travel forums, like travel guides, are a "old-school" thing—they’re not really frequented by people under 40, and even less by those under 30. So we’re not really dealing with rude young people who don’t say thank you.

Puma2A

545 messages

À: Sinforosa · 2 March 2026 à 14:10

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 24 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 628 affichages · Partager

Hello,

After reading some of the previous replies, I at least hope it’s not shocking to say/write "hello" or "thank you"... ???

Probably an old-school reflex... (well, not everyone!)

Recently, someone pointed out to me that, generally, "people" don’t say hello to start a text message...
Afraid of shocking them, I even apologized for doing it!!

Take care.

Puma2A

...

Djalma (en ligne!)

À: Puma2A · 2 March 2026 à 14:28

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 25 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 625 affichages · Partager

Hello!

Yes, this was already true before the forum closed, and it's even more the case now. I've lost count of the number of people who come to ask their question and then either never return to the forum or come back to grab the answers but forget to say thanks or even just reply.

I’m more forgiving of the first group.

As for the others, if I happen to come across a new question from them, I sometimes give them a bit of nonsense info while keeping a straight face... Gotta have a little fun, right!

Djackx67

960 messages

À: Djalma · 4 March 2026 à 22:58

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 26 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 561 affichages · Partager

Anyway, traffic and posts on this site have collapsed since it shut down.... Travel Facebook groups have taken over now.

MirandaMouse

5 457 messages

À: Djackx67 · 5 March 2026 à 0:06

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 27 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 556 affichages · Partager

It's the same for all forums...

I'm not a fan of Facebook groups, it's not the same!

Sinforosa

À: Djackx67 · 5 March 2026 à 5:22 · Modifié le 5 Mar 2026 à 5:50

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 28 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 544 affichages · Partager

In any case, attendance and posts on this site have collapsed since its closure....

The Forum stayed closed for several years, and people got into the habit of asking questions and exchanging ideas elsewhere. Some only learned that VF had reopened a few weeks ago when they received the Newsletter.

People got used to coming here in read-only mode, and they’re staying in read-only mode (as long as there’s still something to read), without participating—neither to ask questions nor to chat.

Facebook (and social media for younger folks) took over from travel forums, and the few forums that are still active increasingly resemble Facebook (questions asked, tone of discussions, ads for guides or agencies, etc...).

Sinforosa

À: Ticapi · 9 March 2026 à 12:47 · Modifié le 9 Mar 2026 à 13:28

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 29 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 465 affichages · Partager

Personally, what annoys me the most are people who don’t ask questions in travel journals, who don’t bother starting a discussion, and who want to receive tips and info via PM.

Hello,

I had this happen a few days ago—someone asked me questions about a country I’d written a report and travel journal on, which they’d read. I asked them to post their questions (there were quite a few) on the forum report I’d shared and even sent them the link. But they still didn’t post their questions in the discussion.

If I don’t "know" the person, I don’t reply in private messages. It’s happened to me on another forum where I spent a long time answering people who didn’t even thank me. I even had one person I’d exchanged a lot with about Panama, which I’d just visited, and when I asked them for info about Paraguay, where they’d been (and where there’s little info available), they told me to look it up online…

What makes a forum valuable is the public exchanges and tips that can help others.

Djalma (en ligne!)

À: Sinforosa · 9 March 2026 à 13:16

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 30 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 451 affichages · Partager

I asked him for information about Paraguay, where he had been and for which there is little information, and he told me to look it up on the Internet....

I must have dealt with the same person! No response!
Personally, I’ve already been to Paraguay, but the "visited" part (between Iguaçu Falls in Brazil, Asunción, and Corrientes in Argentina) didn’t leave me with an unforgettable memory... Just huge haciendas and kilometers of barbed wire. I was looking for information about the far north: the Gran Chaco...
There used to be a member on this forum, Jcamericasur

, who lived in Paraguay, but he hasn’t resurfaced in many years.

Sinforosa

À: Djalma · 9 March 2026 à 13:24

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 31 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 441 affichages · Partager

Hi there,

For me, it was on another forum, and it was in 2023 or 2024, but there are contributors who post on multiple forums, and the way things work is the same.

Anyway, now I’m a lot more selective about my private replies.

In public messages, we can always tell ourselves that even if we don’t get a reply or thanks, it might still help someone else.

Jojoone1

5 121 messages

À: Jojoone1 · 9 March 2026 à 17:02

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 32 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 416 affichages · Partager

So we’ve gone from: I swap stuff in total solidarity (and sometimes argue about it) to: I’m just looking out for myself.

The future? A good third of travelers will disappear along with their jobs because of AI, and after that, they’ll end up grafting us to the Machine, which’ll turn everything upside down and catapult us into another dimension.
Hey, remember when we used to be human?

Montagnard74

2 968 messages

À: Jojoone1 · 9 March 2026 à 17:10

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 33 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 410 affichages · Partager

Anyway, your plan doesn’t exactly sell us the dream! 😞

Mathews

12 390 messages

À: Jojoone1 · 9 March 2026 à 20:20

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 34 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 387 affichages · Partager

The future is that a good third of travelers will disappear along with their profession due to Artificial Intelligence

Which profession are we talking about?
You’re fantasizing a bit about AI.
What are AI platforms? Data centers, or data centers in plain English, where servers are stacked and run 24/7.
But as far as I know, a computer can’t taste a pizza in Naples, steamed dumplings in Beijing, etc...
and likewise, a computer isn’t capable of emotions.
The city you visit as a traveler might appeal to you or it might not.
Venice could very well charm you or give you the blues, a touch of melancholy—it all depends on your mood at the time.
What interests me is the feeling of things, not a copy-paste from Wikipedia or a travel guide

Muriel18 (en ligne!)

3 147 messages

À: Mathews · 11 March 2026 à 10:11

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 35 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 336 affichages · Partager

and just as a computer isn't capable of emotions.

No, but it doesn’t need to feel them—it just needs to give the illusion that it does.

The city you visit as a traveler may appeal to you or it may not.

Thanks to the countless data that most people willingly and freely provide online, AI is increasingly able to predict people’s choices and behaviors with reliability.

Montagnard74

2 968 messages

À: Mathews · 11 March 2026 à 14:52

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 36 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 310 affichages · Partager

You're fantasizing a bit about AI.
What are AI platforms? Data centers, or data centres in proper French, where servers are stacked and run 24/7.

You really have to not have grasped AI up close to reduce it to a pile of data, even if that’s intrinsically what it is.

Of course, it will eliminate jobs—it’s already started (analysts, management controllers, translators, journalists…).
But just like coachmen when railways arrived, this (r)evolution will create other professions.

Djalma (en ligne!)

À: Montagnard74 · 11 March 2026 à 15:07

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 37 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 306 affichages · Partager

But just as coachmen did with the arrival of railways, this (r)evolution will create other jobs...

It's very likely that AI will create new jobs and also be a huge help (I'm thinking especially of medicine), but I agree with Mathews when it comes to its usefulness in the travel field... In my opinion, the internet has already started to turn travel into a consumer product, and AI will finish the job!
I'm glad I was able to travel properly before these two "tools" came along.

Muriel18 (en ligne!)

3 147 messages

À: Djalma · 11 March 2026 à 15:20

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 38 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 300 affichages · Partager

I really enjoy planning a trip: reading, watching, dreaming, imagining itineraries... but I don’t have many illusions about how most trips will be planned in a few years.

That said, does it necessarily have to be a bad thing? (Setting aside the carbon footprint generated by AI use.)

But we’re getting off the original topic

Djalma (en ligne!)

À: Muriel18 · 11 March 2026 à 15:37

Re: Societal Evolution

Message 39 de 91 · Page 2 de 5 · 298 affichages · Partager

On the other hand, will it necessarily be a bad thing? (Aside from the carbon footprint generated by AI use).

If so many people "travel" these days using new tools like the internet and AI, it’s because they find happiness in this "ease." And I almost feel like encouraging them.

I loved traveling for the spirit of adventure, the taste for the unknown, to rub shoulders with new ways of thinking... to escape for a few moments from the modern world, which I sometimes find cramped and tyrannical—a modern world I’m still happy to return to, though.

The world is becoming more uniform: we dress, eat, and live almost the same way in France as in Thailand or elsewhere... and this will only intensify. I’m glad I was able to travel at a time when even paper guides didn’t exist.

Sinforosa