What possesses tourists to take selfies with the Pope’s open casket?

25 April 2025, 14:58

Anger has been expressed at tourists taking selfies with Pope Francis’s body lying in state in the Vatican.

Their insensitivity speaks to a growing problem with contemporary tourists. Stemming from a social media-driven desire to make the self the centre of attention, tourists exhibit a lack of connection to the places and people they interact with while on holiday.

Typically, tourists prioritise fun and pleasure whilst vacationing. This can create tensions when they self-indulge to the point of becoming a nuisance. Tired of disruptive stag parties, for example, Amsterdam has recently tried to discourage young British men looking for a messy weekend away.

In addition, tourists frequently show off. They collect souvenirs, such as travel selfies, to broadcast desired impressions to others. In doing so, they often irritate. Barcelona’s famous La Boqueria market has banned tourists taking selfies, because they were getting in the way of residents trying to do their shopping.

These longstanding self-centric tendencies of tourists seem to be turbocharged by smartphone enabled cameras and social media connectivity. Where tourists once went on holiday to see the other, they now go to see themselves in front of the other, or even, to be seen by the other.

Increasingly tourists are looking at themselves whilst they travel. Analysing tourist selfies, researchers found that rather than looking outward to capture images of a destination, tourist cameras are now more often pointed at the self by the self.  St Peter’s Basilica becomes merely another backdrop to pose in front of. An open casket is reduced to a prop.

Research also suggests that tourists are mindful during a vacation of how they will look on social media. While they travel, tourists take, edit, and upload photos and videos, and immediately get reactions. Distracted by thinking about imagined audiences and content collecting, local etiquette can be missed.

More than this, tourists may increasingly be expecting others to look at them as they travel. Looking to live out their influencer fantasies, tourists may solicit attention from passersby, even behaving provocatively to get reactions.

Ironically, digital connectivity seems to be undermining connections between tourists and destinations. As physical and virtual realms are becoming ever more blurred, it is increasingly easy to become detached from in-the-moment experiences. Constantly thinking about digital appearances, content collecting, and online feedback is distracting.

This digital disconnect may make tourists less aware of local surroundings. More likely to miss opportunities to connect with others. Likewise, they miss subtle social cues and prompts that might help them to better blend in with local norms. Also, the less subtle cues, such as you know, not photobombing a corpse.

Interestingly, tourists might benefit from the advice of Pope Francis himself regarding healthier engagement with social media. He suggested using it to connect with others rather than retreating into isolated bubbles. Putting down the smartphone for a bit while on holiday to really focus on the surroundings might be a great way to burst the bubble.
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Brendan Canavan is an Assistant Professor in Marketing in the Nottingham University Business School at the University of Nottingham.

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