Associate Professor Ulrike Gretzel feels the pull. Picture: DAVE TEASE
Mobile technology has been a boon for tourists, allowing them to instantly search for and book hotels, restaurants, flights or travel experiences almost anywhere in the world.
But, according to a new University of Wollongong study, this relatively new ability to connect with anyone at any time could be stopping modern travellers from truly relaxing on holidays.
UOW tourism researcher Associate Professor Ulrike Gretzel recently worked with James Cook University's Professor Philip Pearce to study the psychological effects of travelling with technology.
She said the study results showed many people, especially younger "digital natives", were likely to feel stressed when taking their mobile phone on holidays.
"They told us that it really keeps them from feeling present and stops them from connecting with people and immersing themselves in the experience," she said.
"Being on the technology all the time, you stare at your screen, you don't have to talk to the people right next to you."
However, Professor Gretzel said participants also felt stressed about the idea of holidaying without their phone.
"People recognise the positive aspects of technology and they want a phone to be able to find out about restaurants or events," she said.
"They also think they might miss out on something, and there are safety issues too, because your phone can be your only connection to the home.
"The tricky thing is that even through travellers may take their phone to use only for these purposes, the other things kind of sneak in.
"Once you turn your phone on, you think 'I might as well check my email messages or go on to Facebook'."
She said "dead zones" - where mobile phones won't work and internet connections are unavailable - could soon become a destination selling point, and said study participants already imposed dead zones of their own.
"We had one girl who told us how she has someone else change her password on Facebook [and] we spoke to people who take their phone away on holidays, because they find it hard to leave it at home, but they will not take the charger so they have a limited amount of time to use it," she said.
Professor Gretzel said her study was among the first to look at negative consequences of using technology on holidays.
"Vacations are designed to give you time away from work and your normal life, and the psychological benefits of this are really important - this is why we have vacations," she said.
"But if a lot of people now think they can no longer get those benefits, it's critical to find out why and whether we need to do something about it."