Vanessa I think Covid has stopped most gap year plans now anyway. :-(
In Australia it's almost a rite of passage... because we're so isolated most young people are itching to get out and experience different cultures / lifestyles. That's why you get so many feral Aussie backpackers in Europe. (You poor things!).
These days many employers see travel experience as an asset... being able to adapt to different situations, budgeting, people skills, communication, tolerance and understanding etc etc. You learn a lot from travelling.
I've found these gaps in my resume have actually given me a foot in the door several times... but unfortunately the situation for the current generation is vastly different to how it was. I think international travel will take a long time to recover. :-(
Incidentally, the only people who seem to travel as much as Aussies are Germans! No matter how far off the beaten track I go there's always Germans! I bump into them in the weirdest places.