The days of the "real" backpacker are for the most part behind us. Technology for the most part has made it something that doesn't really need to happen anymore and that is a shame. Sure you CAN still just rock up somewhere and explore with your pack on but very few people do that and a lot of countries, particularly the ones that used to be fun in South East Asia but no longer are, demand that you provide them with an address of accommodation for your initial stay. Of course you could simply lie about this but if you leave it blank (which would be the truth) you are asking for trouble. Therefore most people book their accommodation well ahead of time.... and that is just fine.
Back when I first started traveling, which was the late 90's, the internet did exist but there were not a great many ways to book hostels online and for the most part simply turning up to a particular part of town and hunting around for a place to stay was the name of the game. Lonely Planet or some other guide game you a basic idea of where to go but in many ways you kind of ended up just "somewhere" because of the chips falling where they did. This idea of airport pickups was something for rich people staying at the Hilton, not backpackers on the cheap. The all-inclusive party hostel wasn't yet a thing (which I am happy about.)
These days, and I am referring to pre-Covid, I would say that about 90% of the "backpackers" aren't really backpackers and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. You are traveling and this is good but you honestly do not need your backpack where you are going and the backpack, which was a necessary part of travel for when people weren't really sure where they were staying or were headed towards places without paved areas, isn't necessary now.
src
Imagine how much easier this would be on them if they just used a rolling suitcase? hell, they could probably just have 1 and take turns!
A backpack also happens to be one of the worst possible forms of containing your belongings in terms of organization, cleanliness, and security is concerned. You clothes dirty and clean are shoved into the same tube, you can't see anything down there, most have dozens of completely unnecessary pockets and zips, and anyone who wants to break into it can do so with a box cutter.
Just like in the last picture above, a VAST MAJORITY of all travelers do not leave areas where there are footpaths and streets and therefore, the backpack offers you absolutely no practical advantage if you are traveling. The idea behind backpackers all began when the only other choice was a old-timey suitcase but when was the last time you saw one of those?
src
A backpack is a better idea than this, but this is from the 70's before wheels on bags were thought of
It's perfectly ok to admit that you are not a real backpacker especially since for the most part these people don't exist at all anymore. Most of the places you will travel to, including budget places, have footpaths leading to them. I've been on some pretty remote islands and they had footpaths that went all but the last couple of meters to your bungalow.
Just because you are traveling on the cheap doesn't mean you have to have a backpack. In my follow up article to this one I will explain the only situations that I have found where a backpack is truly necessary and also some of the ones (the more popular ones) where they definitely are not.