It's really not all as bad as you perceive. This is more a problem with the mental state of the people in that line. The misery (if you see it as such) of vacation photos predates social media. You can go through some old family photo albums and see that. All social media does is broaden the audience. The pathology of misery might seek out social media, but that doesn't make social media the genesis of all that misery.

Without these photos, whether posted to Facebook, Instagram, or a family photo album, we tend to forget about wonderful experiences over time. A little work in the moment isn't such a high price pay as long as it doesn't consume you.

From the other end it's not all bad either. When I see my friends and family sharing pictures of their vacations, kids, and successes, it makes me genuinely happy for them. That's the only reason that I still check Facebook every few days. We don't all need to make life a contest.