CityNews – If it were to ever be asked in a pub quiz which place was the most instagrammed place on the planet in 2013 you’d think the majority of the answers would be wonders like the pyramids of Egypt, or tourist haunts such as the streets of old London town. But you wouldn’t even be close if you went that route. The winner is Bangkok’s Siam Paragon Shopping Mall, which might say less about the mall’s aesthetic glitz than it does about Thailand’s narcissistic addiction to the selfie.
In second place was Times Square, followed by Disneyland in California. Also on the list was Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and New York’s Central Park. It shouldn’t really come as any big surprise if you follow Instagram news, as last year’s list was Suvarnabhumi in first place and Siam Paragon in second.
The full list is here.
Bangkok is wedged between New York (1) and Los Angeles (3) in the most popular Instagram cities of the world. The list only contains cities in the US, UK, Brazil and Thailand.
Thailand’s uber-luxury mall is said to receive about 100,000 visitors a day, though the results have still perplexed the world’s press who ask how can a mall be the top of the list.
An AP account of the phenomenon came to this conclusion:
“Thailand has long been called the Land of Smiles, but it could also be called the Land of Selfies. Thais love taking pictures of themselves, documenting their daily activities and uploading the images instantly so friends know what they’re up to. The Southeast Asian country is also one world’s biggest users of social media, which could explain why a building that may not be the most photographed in the world still ends up as the most visible on Instagram.”
It seems that Thailand’s well known face-culture is proving to be a massive hit with social media trends. Perhaps next year after the streets of anti-government protests became popular this month with selfie takers Thailand might have another spot on the Instagram list.
