Every week I read a new story about tourists doing something stupid on their phone in a national park. It's hard not to come away from the endless onslaught of touron news with the idea that social media is ruining our public land. But is there any empirical evidence for that? And isn't visitation good for paying to keep our national parks in pristine condition? A study published by the National Academy of Sciences draws a significant link between social media exposure and visitation at individual national parks. It's not a surprise that parks with ample shared photographs, videos, and geotags are more popular than parks without, but the study is able to demonstrate that even the most popular parks can still feel the effects of popularity on X/Twitter and Instagram. It provides a statistical model to suggest that the connection between social media and visitation offers lessons the NPS and its stakeholders could use to help address core issues like overcrowding and easing its