Influence of Digitalisation in New York City (Essay Sample)

Influence of Digitalisation in New York City Students name Professor Course Date Influence of Digitalisation in New York City Introduction Digitalization is a comprehensive and dynamic concept that has gained prominence and popularity due to the growth of technology. Digital technology enhances people's global connections (Shah et al., 2024). Among the places where the influence of digitalization is prevalent is New York City. In examining the digital manifestation of New York City, one key area that has a significant impact is the social media platform and digital imagery. These key aspects have played an important role in displaying the iconic image of New York City, attracting investors' attention not only to visit the City but also to venture deep into the business that promotes the City's economic growth. The digital imagery portrays the City's beautiful features, attracting tourists who regularly visit it and contributing to its rapid economic growth (Eruchalu et al., 2021). The rapid economic changes came with many impacts, especially on human survival. The essay is therefore structured to analyse the influence of social media platforms and the digital image in New York City by examining factors such as the digital manifestation of media in the City, the benefits and the drawbacks of digitization, provides insights on the justification of the social media platform and digital imagery influence and also expands on the inclusion and exclusion dynamics with its implication. Digital Manifestation in the New York City Social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X, and TikTok play a significant role in representing New York City digitally. Using hashtags such as #NEW York has made it easier for people to create many posts showcasing the iconic landmarks and the cultural lifestyle of the people in New York City (Galster, 2023). Millions of Instagram users use the platform to post images depicting the City skylines, the streets, and cultural events. Instagram filters have transformed photography into more of a social structure, describing trends and influencing the perception of the City's identity (Buonocore et al., 2021). The Instagram platform enables brands, influencers, and tourists to promote the City as a destination. The branded hashtag and the influencer's collaboration play a massive role in marketing the beauty of the very, hence attracting tourists to visit the country and enhancing economic development. The X media platform provides a platform for sharing live news and events about New York City. The users share a wide range of content, including cultural commentary, community events, and breaking news (Eruchalu et al., 2021). Various images of the City's structure, including beautiful buildings, infrastructures, and reactional facilities, are displayed throughout the process. Local businesses and organizations have used Facebook to share their ideas and opinions, shaping people's interaction in the City's digital ecosystem. Facebook has elementary features that are easy for anyone to use (Meese and Hurcombe, 2021). Residents of New York City use the platform to post content on the general lifestyle of the people, hence attracting the attention of visitors. The TikTok platform, which has features such as short videos, enables people to share short video content that captures the daily creativity of the people in New York City. According to the research, the majority of TikTok users are young people. The young influence from the New York City neighbourhood is, therefore, able to gain popularity by bringing exciting content about their social norms and traditions. Viral TikTok challenges such as dancing and comedic sketches have enabled people to share their cultural values and customers, gaining visibility and enhancing their audience (Galster, 2023). The residents, cultural institutions, and businesses use the platform to showcase their offerings, attracting visitors to the City. The platform has a geolocation feature that enables the user to find content relevant to the neighbourhood, thus embracing the sense of belonging to the community. Benefits of the digital media. Digital media has many benefits for the people living in New York City. The use of social media platforms and digital imagery significantly influences the lifestyle of the people in the City. Digital media allows locals to interact with the world by sharing their creative content (Congge et al., 2023). This makes it easier for people from diverse cultures to connect and exchange creative ideas and content, benefits in many ways. Therefore, the following are the benefits of digital media in the City.  It enhances Community engagement Community engagement in New York City thrives through the digital platform. The platform allows community artists, entrepreneurs, and residents to connect, collaborate, and advocate for changes. The space serves as a virtual meeting ground where diverse voices converge to share their opinion, ideas, and resources to address issues that would improve the future state of the City (Buonocore et al., 2021). The digital platform, therefore, facilitates community engagement in the context of New York City through the following ways; The online platform The online platform allows people to discuss local issues, share information, and seek advice and guidance from their peers. The local neighbourhood forum enables the locals to destroy matters such as housing, transport, and education communication systems, among others, in New York City (Singh et al., 2021). The forum has created an opportunity for people who may have not met face-to-face to network through the platform. The neighbourhood groups A neighbourhood-based platform like Facebook enables individuals to interact with local neighbors and organize events that foster team social cohesion and unity. Individuals can discuss politics, business, and regional news through the neighbourhood platform (Buonocore et al., 2021). Through the discussion, they can share knowledge and exchange their diverse opinions, which enhances their understanding of each other. Through the platform, members can mobilize each other to work toward supporting community projects. It enhances Collaboration and dialogue The digital platform facilitates communication and dialogue among the artists, entrepreneurs, residents, and activities in New York City. The artists use the media to showcase their exhibitions. The artists in New York can use the platform to collaborate and promote various events. Entrepreneurs use the platform to market their businesses, connect with customers, and get feedback from the target audience (Galster, 2023). This could enable them to provide services that satisfy the people's demands around the City. The platform keeps entrepreneurs updated on market trends, pushing them to be more creative (Hruska and Maresova,2020). The activists could also use the platform to organize complaints, rallies, and fundraisers online and mobilize supporters through social media platforms. It supports cultural diversity in the City The digital pages on social platforms like meet-ups and Facebook events serve as spaces for discovering community events in New York. The pages provide a platform for people to post updates about cultural festival events, workshops, and seminars that attract and connect people (Galster, 2023). The users can browse through the listing on the page based on their interest dates or location and find the appropriate events to attend. The digital pages also allow them to share feedback on their experiences in certain events (Tang and Chan, 2020). Positive reports attract more people from diverse cultures to similar future events. The pages, therefore, enable people from diverse cultures to interact and exchange ideas and information. This interaction promotes diversity and enhances social cohesion and understanding. The drawback of digitization Selective representation The selective representation of New York City on social media does not reflect the City's actual perception and the people's experience. The posts on platforms such as Facebook and TikTok focus on displaying beautiful pictures of the City, including its stunning skylines and bustling streets, and overlooking the City's reality, such as poverty and homelessness (Turel et al., 2021). This creates images that do not reflect the reality of the setting and the lifestyle of the people living in the City. Therefore, the selective representation on social media results in misleading information about the City and the people's experience, especially for someone who has yet to have the chance to visit the City. In most cases, the selective representation is done for the following reasons; Desire for likes and followers.  Most social influencers and content creators gain popularity from the number of followers they get. People are attracted to excellent content and decide to follow the host. Out of this drive, most influencers and content creators around New York City concentrate on positing pleasing photos of iconic landmarks to gain likes, followers, and popularity (Levin and Mamlok, 2021). Most photos display beautiful scenery around the cities, filtered by photographers and social influencers, thus losing authenticity. For tourism and economic interests.  New York values many visitors and tourists visiting the country to explore. The City can generate revenues from tourism activities, enhancing its economic growth. With the interest of attracting more tourists to the City, most of the posts about the City have been designed to promote only the City's positive image and attract more visitors and tourists (Hepburn et al., 2024). This results in the selection of only positive content that reflects the excellent appearance of the City. Selection of the content is dangerous because it sometimes leaves the tourists in shock and experiences the differ...