A social media habits question was recently posed in a Facebook group that I’m apart of. The question asked how your social media and online activity changed when you traveled.

Since this question was posed to a group of people who work in the social media realm, I’ll say upfront that our answers were not indicative of “average users” by any means. But the question did get me thinking about my personal social media and online habits when we travel as a family.

First, though this likely doesn’t even need to be said, I never full disconnect when on the road. I can’t! And I don’t mean that as a complaint; there are a lot of pluses to being able to continue working while mobile.

Here are a few ways that my social media and online activity differs in advance of a trip:

• I search for and follow the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts of the hotel, tourist hot spots, and restaurants we plan to visit. I usually begin to interact with them a bit as well. It’s a great way to test how responsive they are to their customers.
• I visit the website of the hotel we’ll be staying at, and also look to see if the place we are visiting has its own tourism-based website or blog. If done well, these types of sites can provide you with a plethora of information to prepare for your trip including nearby attractions, special events and restaurants.
• I look up diner reviews and check menus to locate some yummy restaurants to eat at while traveling.
• I visit websites of popular tourist spots to see hours of operation, location, and pricing.

Here are a few ways that my social media and online activity differs while traveling:

• I do check my email less often and only respond to things that need immediate attention.
• I make sure to check-in using FourSquare and perhaps Yelp (if a restaurant) for every business we visit.
• I take a bunch more photos when I travel, so my Instagram activity spikes and the nature of my Facebook updates change to photos. Lots and lots of photos.
• I try to locate usernames and specific hashtags for the businesses we’re visiting while on a trip, and incorporate them into the updates I post on Twitter and Instagram.

On a recent family vacation, I was awarded for my photo sharing + hashtag use with this can’t-buy-in-store t-shirt from one of the restaurants we dined at. I earned the shirt because they chose to RT one of my posted photos.

Whether traveling for work or for personal reasons, how do your social media and online habits change while away from home?