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Technology has been a mixed blessing for travelers. For those of us who remember scary moments lost, broke, and alone in a foreign city, Google Maps, PayPal, and FaceTime are a great leap forward.
On the other hand, that 24/7 link back home can cut in on the opportunity to get away from it all — especially when it comes to responsibilities back at the office.
A recent survey from AARP suggests that boomers have an easier time hitting the Off button than their younger colleagues.
The tradeoff: They also take less advantage of the vacation time to which they’re entitled.
The survey finds that only 62% of boomers planned to use all or most of their vacation time in 2019, compared with 77% of millennial employees.
But is the younger set really kicking back on vacation? Not so much: Among survey respondents, 78% of millennials said they planned to bring work with them on vacation, compared with just 59% of boomers.
What’s more, boomers who do keep in touch with the office keep a lid on the time it takes up: Most said they won’t let work consume more than 10% of their time off.
Indeed, close to half of boomers surveyed (54%) are happy to vacation without a smartphone at all.
Meanwhile, 70% of millennials said they’d take their phones — and 62% of that group said they couldn’t travel without it.
