How Social Media has Romanticized NYC
There’s no place quite like New York City. Whether it be the constant movement, the enormous skyscrapers, or the exciting nightlife—everyone wants to go to New York City. This isn’t necessarily a new trend since NYC has always been seen as both a tourist attraction and an interesting city to move to when you’re young. But lately, it feels as if the perception of the city has shifted (and not for the better).
Due to social media, the picture that’s been painted of NYC is one of a utopian society where anyone can make a name for themselves, and everyone struts the streets like it’s a runway. It’s a sought-after destination where people who haven’t been cannot wait to go. As an ex-native New Yorker, I can’t say that this is invalid. New York City is an amazingly intricate place that I believe anyone can enjoy. Still, this romanticization of NYC ignores the nuances and reality of the city.
Some blame can be placed on your favorite fashion intern, microcelebrity trust fund babies on Instagram and Tiktok. I’m talking about people who post “day-in-the-life” montages and live in paid-for high-rise apartments. You know, the ones who are always eating out and uber everywhere. The people who live in luxury live in a completely different world from everyone else in New York, and most people can’t understand how this wealth disparity affects how you live in New York until you’re there. TikTok pages can also take some of this blame. Content Creators such as “What’s Poppin? With Davis” and “Subway Oracle” are also major reasons why people have such a glamourized view of NYC. Interviews conducted in safe and attractive locations with safe and attractive strangers paint a picture of NYC as a safe and attractive place when this only tells half the story. Although not intentional, their content creates a distorted image of what it’s like to live in New York City because of how carefully curated their content is. Not everyone in New York is a hot and sexy NYU student, and not every neighborhood will look pretty on your feed.
Another downplayed part is that the city is dirty…like really dirty. Parks and subways alike are riddled with trash, rats, and needles. During the wintertime, snow is black due to the amount of dirt it absorbs from being in contact with the ground. If you thought you were going to be able to march the streets with your Jimmy Choo heels on and not get them mangled, you’re living in fantasy land. Not only this, but the sheer density of people that live in the city will leave you with strangers constantly in your personal space. If you were looking forward to taking aesthetic pictures on the subway, good luck cutting through the mob of New Yorkers to get that angle. The filtered content creation in New York City has promoted a fictitious image of what it’s like to wander the streets. This can be dangerous for ignorant viewers who travel to the city and want to discover if what they see on social media is really true.
Another problem with how NYC is portrayed through social media is its misrepresentation of “the city.” In case you weren’t already aware, New York City is not just Manhattan; four other boroughs deserve love and recognition (I’m talking about Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and The Bronx). Many neighborhoods throughout the rest of the city are rich in diverse cultures and beautiful infrastructure. These neighborhoods go under the radar since most of the limelight stays in Manhattan. If only the projection of the city would change not just to present the metropolitan area, maybe then outsiders could see what the rest of the city has to offer.
Lastly, for a place that is often referred to as “the melting pot of the world,” the population of NYC is only represented through social media with fashionistas and models. Although New York is a major hub for fashion, New York has a highly diverse population that any one person cannot represent. Like I said earlier, not everyone in New York is an up & coming model or influencer. For the general consensus to be that New Yorkers are all wealthy fashion icons totally disregards the heart and soul of New York and all the people that truly make it great.
New York City is the embodiment of “expectation versus reality.” The expectation being that it’s a city that will take your breath away due to its sheer beauty when in reality, it’s a city that will take your breath away due to its fallacious identity. This isn’t an article telling you not to go to New York City. This is an article telling you to go without the image you’ve fabricated in your head because of what you saw on social media.
Strike Out,
Jon-David Delcastillo
Boca Raton
JD Delcastillo is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine. He loves consuming media and thinking critically. A major know-it-all regarding anything related to pop culture, music, and sports. Reach out to him on Instagram @jd.delcastillo or email jd.delcastillo954@gmail.com
