Internet allows us to take virtual tours of almost every place in the world. It also enables us to talk to people from other parts of the world. However, such experiences are incomplete and often biased representations of realities.
When we see different places through the internet, we see those places as the creators of pictures and videos intended us to see them. However, when we visit the places in person, we see them as we desire and we see them in their uncensored versions.
When we visit places in person, we get to employ all of our senses including sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, something that is not possible on the internet. Seeing a picture of local food on the internet is not the same as actually tasting, smelling, and even feeling the texture of the food. A picture of a place on the internet does not tell us how the environment smells, what the weather feels like, what sounds dominate that particular place, and how the scenery changes throughout the day. Social media allows us to connect with our friends yet we still enjoy meeting them in person because virtual connections just feel incomplete. In the same manner, virtual tours just provide a basic glimpse of a place; there is no alternative to visiting the place in person to truly understand why that particular place is magical and why it leaves unforgettable impressions in the minds of the visitors.
If we want to understand other people, there is no better way than to interact with them in their native environment. When we visit other places, we are exposed to the diversity of ideas in that place. We observe the people in their native environment and get the most authentic picture of them.
Internet might have made it easier to learn the basic facts about other places and other people. However, it can never replicate the knowledge and authentic experiences one gain by actually visiting other places in the world.