ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE CITY
Social Media & Aesthetics
"The brand is no longer what we tell the customer it is- it is what the customers tell each other it is"
~Scot Cook
~Scot Cook
Social Media and The Altering Perspective of New York City's Anesthetics
By: Trishna Ramsamooj
Recently, I came across an article entitled "5o Reasons Why New York City is the Greatest City in the World". Being a born and raised New Yorker, I flipped my hair, said "hell yeah" and proceeded to scroll the article. To my surprise, 40 of the 50 things listed were primarily about Manhattan- as if Manhattan made up basically 4/5th of NYC. Another attention grabbing thing were the amazing shots of the skyline, time square, and various high end restaurants, again primarily located in Manhattan.
As a person who lived in Queens for more than 20 years, attended and taught at schools in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx, and occasionally visits Staten Island and the overlapping outskirts of Long Island- I can state that the pictures and “listed greatness” does not do justice the actual majesticness of New York City that I know! After reading that article, I started paying closer attention to trending topics on various social media platforms and I began to observe many of the people I have on there were all posting photos from similar types of places with the hashtag #NYCLife and #Ilovemycity. These places they were primarily posting from were all located in Manhattan! Not only were these posts/ pictures “model status” type portraits, but the amount of likes, comments and hashtags seemed to fluctuate depending on the geotag and style of the picture.
This brings me to the topic of this page:
Social media has played a dramatic role in altering the perception of New York City’s aesthetics by: whitewashing, providing a platform for false lifestyles and turning locations into performance sets!
By: Trishna Ramsamooj
Recently, I came across an article entitled "5o Reasons Why New York City is the Greatest City in the World". Being a born and raised New Yorker, I flipped my hair, said "hell yeah" and proceeded to scroll the article. To my surprise, 40 of the 50 things listed were primarily about Manhattan- as if Manhattan made up basically 4/5th of NYC. Another attention grabbing thing were the amazing shots of the skyline, time square, and various high end restaurants, again primarily located in Manhattan.
As a person who lived in Queens for more than 20 years, attended and taught at schools in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx, and occasionally visits Staten Island and the overlapping outskirts of Long Island- I can state that the pictures and “listed greatness” does not do justice the actual majesticness of New York City that I know! After reading that article, I started paying closer attention to trending topics on various social media platforms and I began to observe many of the people I have on there were all posting photos from similar types of places with the hashtag #NYCLife and #Ilovemycity. These places they were primarily posting from were all located in Manhattan! Not only were these posts/ pictures “model status” type portraits, but the amount of likes, comments and hashtags seemed to fluctuate depending on the geotag and style of the picture.
This brings me to the topic of this page:
Social media has played a dramatic role in altering the perception of New York City’s aesthetics by: whitewashing, providing a platform for false lifestyles and turning locations into performance sets!
Amelia (top left), Leah (bottom left), Triston (right),
White Washing:
When electrification and the Great White Way occurred back in the early 1920’s, it was said “Electrification thus made possible a new kind of visual text, one that expressed an argument or view of the world without writing, solemnly through suppressing some features of a site and emphasizing others. It underlined significant landmarks and literally highlighted important locations” (Nye, David E. Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New Technology. 1990). This form of “white washing” is happening with the steadily increasing use of social media.
Hashtags and filters added on to beautifully built-up places are erasing “unattractive” areas and hiding the truth of the place. A prime example of this is Brooklyn. Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope have been gentrified and “fixed up”, and is now the “new Brooklyn”. Posed up art murals (like the photographs above), blurred background bridged shots, gentrified bar drink posts, and prospect park flicks are some of thee most common pictures people I interviewed said they took during the summertime- but it was taken in Brooklyn so they can tell people they hang out in Brooklyn from time to time!
Cleaning and building up an area is not a bad thing, but when it becomes a “tourist attraction”, culture and traditions that locals did are now lost in the everyday basicness. Actual news about the truth of a city, such as poverty and violence, gets filtered away by posts about food and beauty of the new developments.
When electrification and the Great White Way occurred back in the early 1920’s, it was said “Electrification thus made possible a new kind of visual text, one that expressed an argument or view of the world without writing, solemnly through suppressing some features of a site and emphasizing others. It underlined significant landmarks and literally highlighted important locations” (Nye, David E. Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New Technology. 1990). This form of “white washing” is happening with the steadily increasing use of social media.
Hashtags and filters added on to beautifully built-up places are erasing “unattractive” areas and hiding the truth of the place. A prime example of this is Brooklyn. Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope have been gentrified and “fixed up”, and is now the “new Brooklyn”. Posed up art murals (like the photographs above), blurred background bridged shots, gentrified bar drink posts, and prospect park flicks are some of thee most common pictures people I interviewed said they took during the summertime- but it was taken in Brooklyn so they can tell people they hang out in Brooklyn from time to time!
Cleaning and building up an area is not a bad thing, but when it becomes a “tourist attraction”, culture and traditions that locals did are now lost in the everyday basicness. Actual news about the truth of a city, such as poverty and violence, gets filtered away by posts about food and beauty of the new developments.
False Lifestyles:
Shows like Gossip Girl, Sex and the City, How I Met Your Mother, Glee and Friends all portrayed living in an apartment overlooking some great part of Manhattan with your friends as a “standard living model”; that “I made it NYC” type of lifestyle. Of course most college students attending CUNY schools can tell you that life in the city is super expensive! Social media platforms, however, give us an opportunity to flaunt the little escapes we can afford to take here and there and that has started an epidemic of lying about how we live via the internet and posts people make.
The human race are moths, attracted now to anything with lighting. The Rockefeller Christmas Tree, the NYC SkyLine, The HighLine, Dyker Heights during Christmas time, Igloo Rooftop Bar, Pepsi-Cola Sign in Long Island City- any place that is beautifully lite up tends to attract the most people, and lo and behold, their social media postings follow right behind. It is a need now to have to post one's presence at every party, food, and thing they are doing just to show they can attend.
Shows like Gossip Girl, Sex and the City, How I Met Your Mother, Glee and Friends all portrayed living in an apartment overlooking some great part of Manhattan with your friends as a “standard living model”; that “I made it NYC” type of lifestyle. Of course most college students attending CUNY schools can tell you that life in the city is super expensive! Social media platforms, however, give us an opportunity to flaunt the little escapes we can afford to take here and there and that has started an epidemic of lying about how we live via the internet and posts people make.
The human race are moths, attracted now to anything with lighting. The Rockefeller Christmas Tree, the NYC SkyLine, The HighLine, Dyker Heights during Christmas time, Igloo Rooftop Bar, Pepsi-Cola Sign in Long Island City- any place that is beautifully lite up tends to attract the most people, and lo and behold, their social media postings follow right behind. It is a need now to have to post one's presence at every party, food, and thing they are doing just to show they can attend.
Lack of Living in the Moment:
Lastly, living in New York City, in an era where every moment of the day is being documented via tweets, snaps, insta-stories, facebook live or tumblr blogs- a lack of appreciation for our city is there. We do not take moments to just observe how the neighborhood is changing or how the kids at the local schools and churches are actually volunteering and making a difference for the community; instead there is a primary focus of “me, myself and I” that is now constructed.
When was the last time you went out and did not touch your phone? No pictures documenting the night? When was the last time someone went into a coffee shop in Manhattan and did nothing but drink coffee? Ever sit on beach of Coney island and watch the waves creep up the beach as the tide comes in? Have you explore the rocks of Orchard Beach in the Bronx- they were carved and created because of a huge glacier that polished the rock, but did you know ever observe the polishing?
We do not live in the moment and appreciate the actual beauty and secrets of our city! Social media has placed a handcuff around our wrist and we have lost touch with enjoying the moment.
Lastly, living in New York City, in an era where every moment of the day is being documented via tweets, snaps, insta-stories, facebook live or tumblr blogs- a lack of appreciation for our city is there. We do not take moments to just observe how the neighborhood is changing or how the kids at the local schools and churches are actually volunteering and making a difference for the community; instead there is a primary focus of “me, myself and I” that is now constructed.
When was the last time you went out and did not touch your phone? No pictures documenting the night? When was the last time someone went into a coffee shop in Manhattan and did nothing but drink coffee? Ever sit on beach of Coney island and watch the waves creep up the beach as the tide comes in? Have you explore the rocks of Orchard Beach in the Bronx- they were carved and created because of a huge glacier that polished the rock, but did you know ever observe the polishing?
We do not live in the moment and appreciate the actual beauty and secrets of our city! Social media has placed a handcuff around our wrist and we have lost touch with enjoying the moment.
Conclusion:
With the advancement of all the apps and technology we have at our fingertips, I truly believe that New Yorkers need to disconnect and venture into different areas of New York City so people can learn and appreciate our city for more than just picture/ post purposes.
Social media is altering our perspective and value of New York City's aesthetics. If people continue to hype up areas that scream "wealth, happiness and fun" then our amazing diversely built city will become nothing more than a movie set!!!