The is UE Dead thread got me thinking about how social media has affected the hobby from the eyes of someone who posts their explores on social media and has also only known urbex during the social media age. In my opinion, my generation of explorers as a whole gets a lot of flack for blowing out spots and showing the hobby to suspect crowds which makes complete sense. My issue with this opinion is that the majority of us are doing our very best to make sure this does not happen. I get trying is not enough but it seems there have always been people who leak spots one way or another. To me, it seems like spots getting leaked is just part of the hobby. I'd love some old heads and some new kids on the block like me to weigh in on from y'alls perspective.

Do what you can to keep this hobby as underground as possible, don't let them kids discourage you, even if it's hard

I wouldn't really say it is. As I said in the UE Dead thread, the only thing that can really be bad for this hobby is the mainstream. It just so happens that social media has more potential for mainstream exposure than, say, something like UER or 28DL. Most of the stuff on social media never actually breaks through to the surface. The smaller communities that exist on sites like Youtube, Instagram and Reddit are really good. I'd say that they play a really big part in keeping urbex alive.

Few comments on the topic in not any particular order:

One of the problems with social media is its "volatileness": although anything posted persists in theory, in practice you have to dive deep into the feed or use the nearly-useless search features to find something you saw six minutes ago. In my opinion, a platform like that cannot become a strong foundation for an old-fashioned "community" such as ours here and the migration of users from boards and forums into social media groups has been one of the biggest losses of our online generation.

Another problem with social media such as Facebook is that most of us are there with our real names and personalities. Even if you are in a closed and tightly controlled group, there is a risk that something you post there will make waves in the fleshworld. The fact that there are parties who see even into private discussions doesn't help with the issue. That was far less likely when people could "hide" behind nicknames and online personalities. Of course it's still possible with the social media; just less convenient.

I also feel emphasizing the visuals too much tends to push the hobby from "exploring" into "looking for photo spots". While I enjoy good photographs just as much as the next guy, one gets tired of "art gallery content" when there are no adventure stories or anything about the location "around" the visuals.

UER is not a small forum by any measure, but it's nothing compared to a massive Facebook group or an Instagram account with bazillion followers. This might encourage people to share more than they should because such a large audience provides an unprecedented opportunity to gain "restecp", going viral, getting that 15 minutes of fame...

Although there have always been multiple UE forums with somewhat limited overlap, platforms like Facebook make it "a bit too easy" to fork off and start a new group. This not only fragments the scene, but increases the risk of breach of confidentiality and proliferation of sensitive information. Time and again I have seen someone ripping photos from a more strictly-controlled group and reposting them to a more literal community with a request for information on how to get there, and usually someone equally oblivious of the potential consequences delivers. Some people then collect this information into freely-available KMZs we could have only dreamed about during the golden age of urban exploration...

One of the things I have also found a bit discouraging in social media is to see the level where many people have taken the hobby. When I was invited to a live meeting as a "representative of the old times", I ended up sitting quietly in a corner while the others talked about exploring abandoned castles and untouched manor houses. Even my biggest achievements were nothing compared to theirs. Sometimes I wish they put more effort into telling their stories (which were great) instead of saturating their Instagram accounts with photographs that, although beautiful in their documentation of decay, become a bit repetitive after a while. I wonder if in a few years there's enough source material to train an AI to create similar footage...

to be honest friend, I personally do not know what to think when it comes to social medias killing urban exploration, it depends on who you hang around, share locations with, etc... on one side of the spectrum, there are people like myself who go into these buildings and clean them, document them and keep them as fresh as possible <3, I do not leak location's. I am polite to fellow explorers. and instead of leaking locations I encourage them to explore the world and discover their own! I do not smash buildings or invite people who I even think will sneeze on the wall, let alone smash things, (I hate the mindset of "its abandoned anyway" like imagine if your business went under and the place you spent 150,000+ dollars on is now a money put because some kids did 200K worth of damage because your property was "abandoned anyway" good urban explorers dont get places locked down, scrappers. taggers. graffiti artists, vandals, thieves and everything else that is destructive is the reason, breaks my heart seeing great places goto waste, and people who enjoy urbex like me now have a tougher job doing what they love... I digress) I do tend to go alone more often than not (and when I go with someone it’s always one person, and they themselves are pretty known in the urban exploration scene,) but when it comes to social media, it definitely has been killing some buildings near me. for example, I found a hotel near me, perfect condition, (I did some really in-depth research and found that I was one of the first [estimated] five people to enter the building since it’s closing) and I vividly remember someone posted the entrance on TikTok and within less than a month the lobby went from brand new, to broken glass, smashed cook ware. shattered windows, demolished walls, I even have some comparison photos... but there is also some good to be said within the community, as any large community there is always too sides; a good example I have is, I have a location with probably around Two to Three million dollar's worth of (most likely) stolen vehicle's, from golf carts to luxury cars. and the location has been successfully gate kept (to my knowledge) for about.. I'd say Three years give or take. no broken windows, graffiti, nothing. just as I found it, apart from being a little more dusty <3. so depending on which side of the spectrum you are on or viewing, urban exploration is both a detriment and a blessing when it comes to social media, it just depends on who you ask and stand with

Posted by Neon Krystals ...there are people like myself who go into these buildings and clean them, document them and keep them as fresh as possible <3...

You WHAT?!

This is such a tired conversation.

What I will say is that I am so done with seeing people say that social media is killing exploring and ruining locations.

Why you ask?

10/10 times those complaints are being made on those people's social media accounts, where they also post photos of the places they have explored.

And before people chime in and say "I only post once a place is demolished", well, that post will be seen by someone who thinks it's cool and wants to try it - and you have just recruited another new explorer.

In 10 years, a new explorer who is just getting started today will be on whatever new forum or platform is popular, complaining about this very same thing and (insert another new platform) is ruining exploring.

I will chime in and say that UER hasn't always been the most welcoming to people who are brand new here and are *trying their best* to get a foot hold on the hobby.

I think we have all seen some newbies be run off this forum just because some of the old timers hound them to a point of frustration.

Egos that are blown out of proportion are killing the community.

It's very cool to hear some of these povs. Seems to me like the consensus is that it is not which I'm delighted to hear.

I found a hotel near me, perfect condition, (I did some really in-depth research and found that I was one of the first [estimated] five people to enter the building since it’s closing) and I vividly remember someone posted the entrance on TikTok and within less than a month the lobby went from brand new, to broken glass, smashed cook ware. shattered windows, demolished walls, I even have some comparison photos... but there is also some good to be said within the community, as any large community there is always too sides; a good example I have is, I have a location with probably around Two to Three million dollar's worth of (most likely) stolen vehicle's, from golf carts to luxury cars. and the location has been successfully gate kept (to my knowledge) for about.. I'd say Three years give or take. no broken windows, graffiti, nothing. just as I found it, apart from being a little more dusty <3.

This is crazy to hear, I know exactly the two spots you are talking about in your area from one of my favorite urbex tiktokers Emvee (go check them out if you haven't, amazing content). The warehouse with all the cars is insanely cool to me and I'm glad it has been well-kept.

The effects of social media have led me to stop talking about "ethics" in other exploring online communities where ethics aren't observed, but see it as more of a matter of "sustainability." How do you protect a site when you're on location, but also afterward when you're posting stuff online? I've learned a lot of hard lessons over the years.

Posted by RescueMe1060 I will chime in and say that UER hasn't always been the most welcoming to people who are brand new here and are *trying their best* to get a foot hold on the hobby. I think we have all seen some newbies be run off this forum just because some of the old timers hound them to a point of frustration. Egos that are blown out of proportion are killing the community.

Are we as bad still? I think that problem has been alleviated in recent...months? years?

Posted by Steed Are we as bad still? I think that problem has been alleviated in recent...months? years?

It hasn't been too bad ever since Blackhawk got kicked a few years back. In retrospect that decision might have been a double edged sword- we got more rookies sticking around, but it seems like a ton of oldheads and experienced explorers stopped posting around the time Blackhawk was banned. Though maybe that's a coincidence, it's never been clear to me whether there was a correlation there or whether other factors (the death of Flash and the photo uploader, explorers retiring with age, etc) were more to blame.

Posted by Aran It hasn't been too bad ever since Blackhawk got kicked a few years back. In retrospect that decision might have been a double edged sword- we got more rookies sticking around, but it seems like a ton of oldheads and experienced explorers stopped posting around the time Blackhawk was banned. Though maybe that's a coincidence, it's never been clear to me whether there was a correlation there or whether other factors (the death of Flash and the photo uploader, explorers retiring with age, etc) were more to blame.

I'm not so sure that many people stopped posting when he was banned. At the time, he accounted for most of the new comments going up, so with him banned it was always going to lead to a serious dropoff in comments volume.

i have been holding off commenting on this, but i think i am ready to... social media sucks the life out of everything it touches. It just does. Why? Well, I am not a psychologist, but i think that social media is the ultimate expression of LOOK AT ME!!! LOOK AT WHAT I'M DOING!! ISN'T IT COOL? DON'T YOU WISH YOU WERE HERE?"

that's everything from cars to railfanning to urbex... fuck, even i am guilty of it on shitbook. i post rail videos on my page and a CPKC railfan forum, post pics of my car and truck on a Trax and F150 forum, even post pics of my brothers old car on a malaise-era car forum... for me, it passes the time, i guess. But getting back to urbex...

the hobby has changed a bunch since 2003 with technology and internet access. Instead of now having to just post a couple because of bandwidth constraints, you can post the whole experience from gate to chase to waffles after. And people eat it up because they can live vicariously through other peoples' risk. Personally, i avoid urbex online other than UER because i don't think that the people (for the most part) have the best interests of the hobby in mind. I see things being swiped (that has been argued here ad nauseum). I see places being broken into, which i'm not a fan of. Hole in the wall, yes. MAKE a hole in the wall, no. And the cherry on top is utter disrespect for a given location. In the place, the UERsphere, there was always a level of respect for the place that was being documented. Those people that didn't get that, yeah, were run off.

anyways, i think social media is an unavoidable shitcake in some cases. And my hypocrisy on this is fucking epic due to the amount of time I spend on shitbook and tumblr a day. I also think that it has ruined a good many hobbies, and the whole urbex has suffered for it.

well, i am sure that this made absolutely no sense and was an utter waste of internet.

sorry.

spamming each other with our running commentary of bullshit masquerading as insight

our social media masquerading as intimacy

At least we get outside. (except for drainers, I don't trust those pasty-skinned mole people)

FWIW I'm with Samurai. And the only time I have anything to do with urbex online is when I'm here. I'm more about meatspace.

I think that the more exposure the hobby has, the worse it is for people already enjoying the hobby, as spots are more likely to get leaked. However, more exposure also means more people getting into Urban Exploration. It really just depends what side you're on.

Posted by Steed Are we as bad still? I think that problem has been alleviated in recent...months? years?

We aren't that bad anymore actually, the mod team is still holding strong and running things nicely. It used to be a lot of people baiting others in to arguments or even as far as actual stalking/harassment in real life.

in 2003 this and a handful of other websites were the only places you could see and talk about abandoned places. Talking to the media and exposing the hobby to the main stream was very frowned upon amongst this small and tight knit community...

With social media and the race for followers cool things like Urbex became easy to use to tug in followers with the " Wow Factor " ... plus technology making taking a great picture easier to do with very little camera skills needed. Everyone could be a pro photographer on a dangerous photoshoot for their followers


But 20 years ago, it was just about impressing the people on this website right here.


Time shifts and molds everything, urbex isn't immune and social media certainly took it from a small pond with a few fish to a big ocean teaming with life

UE is not dead, but social media will kill it. Not for everyone, but its gonna become harder. More public attention means more places with cams, alarms, security, and barricading from the start of a bando's life cycle., we've already seen this happen over the past 20 years. Now it's gonna get a whole lot worse. Property owners, police, and lawmakers are becoming increasingly aware and it's only gonna get harder. At this point we are approaching a time where an alarming number of new, less responsible, loose lipped explorers are developing the skills necessary to be on the cutting edge. Heavy reliance on intensive B&E coupled with the fact that most only need enough time inside to take some quick phone photos means that often times they don't care whether or not their presence is noted. I've seen locations be vacant for less than a month before getting noticeably vandalized. Shits only gonna get harder, and eventually it will stop being worth it to the people who lack respect for the hobby and the places, and the people who actually care will still be here; We're just gonna have to work harder.

Posted by Jeremys556 I think that the more exposure the hobby has, the worse it is for people already enjoying the hobby, as spots are more likely to get leaked. However, more exposure also means more people getting into Urban Exploration. It really just depends what side you're on.

This is a pretty simple way to put it. More new people is worse for more people already in the hobby -- but it's also worse for the locations. Also, I think we can all agree there are some types of people who just don't belong in UE, and the larger the community grows, the more of them we'll see.

Posted by razzyt UE is not dead, but social media will kill it. Not for everyone, but its gonna become harder. More public attention means more places with cams, alarms, security, and barricading from the start of a bando's life cycle., we've already seen this happen over the past 20 years. Now it's gonna get a whole lot worse. Property owners, police, and lawmakers are becoming increasingly aware and it's only gonna get harder. At this point we are approaching a time where an alarming number of new, less responsible, loose lipped explorers are developing the skills necessary to be on the cutting edge. Heavy reliance on intensive B&E coupled with the fact that most only need enough time inside to take some quick phone photos means that often times they don't care whether or not their presence is noted. I've seen locations be vacant for less than a month before getting noticeably vandalized. Shits only gonna get harder, and eventually it will stop being worth it to the people who lack respect for the hobby and the places, and the people who actually care will still be here; We're just gonna have to work harder.

I think what you're arguing is more that technology (CCTV, AI, etc) will kill it, not as much social media.

The one thing I can hope for with social media, is maybe, just maybe, it'll fall out of style like most other trends. Almost all of the big trends have ended in the past, and I'm hoping the same will occur with UE and it will sink back into the underground. Like Steed said, I'm more nervous about motion alarms, cameras, and other tech that'll get you busted if you aren't some master stealth freak. But then again, not every owner of an abandoned building or property will put stuff up, so I can't see it ever really dying, it'll probably just morph over time. But I suppose unfortunately everyone and their mom loves to trash these places.