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Yes, sometimes media or social media play a vital role to portray the cities perception on peoples mind. If anyone looking to visit the places, he or she will research certain things on the internet or ask friends, family hence then a decision will come out. Hence somehow media and social media shape perception about cities.
Definitely most of us will not go to most cities so many ti9mes the only vision we have of a place is the media vision.
Just about everyone in this country has at least some media exposure so the more frequent a city is represented in the media the more known a city will be not just national, but international as well.
I cant speak for all, but Los Angeles is like totally shaped by media and/or social media. Many people see LA as glitz and glam from all the movies, TV shows, reality shows, all the celebs that live in LA. And on top of that all the award shows like Grammys and Oscars that show life is full of celebs walking around glamours streets driving exotic cars. And they have all the fun at Universal and Disneyland. And the run on the beach in slo-mo with their fake water balloon boobs bouncing up and down.
On travel forums most people want to see certain parts of LA. Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Blvd/Walk of Fame, Santa Monica and Venice and Malibu Beaches, Universal and Disneyland. And also the Party scene of the Sunset Strip, and TV tapings and movie studio tours. Runyon canyon for celeb sightings. Oddly despite many museums, Museums are like way down on people's list of things to do. Also architecture as well. No time for all that stuff.
On the flip side, the really dark side of LA of gangs and shootings mainly seen in movies like Menace2Society Boyz in the Hood, and all the famous gangster rappers. You have notorious hoods and cities that are well known for it like Compton, Inglewood, Watts, Long Beach, East LA.
I come across once in a while of tourist people wanting to visit places like Compton and ask is it safe to drive through.
In reality, I think most people are somewhat disappointed that what they think of LA is not what they expected initially.
Yes indeed... most of the people you'll meet in the LA area are not in the movie/TV business, don't know any Hollywood celebrities, don't drive Ferraris, don't have time to hang out at the beach all day, etc.
For Minneapolis/St. Paul, the general national perception is this: Ice Planet Hoth winters/Minnesota accent. Otherwise it's blank stares. Most people outside the Midwest assume the Twin Cities is a small/typically struggling Midwestern metro and know nothing else, aside from maybe knowing it's the location of the Mall of America.
I think it absolutely shapes people's perceptions, good and bad. Unfortunately, we live in a time where any further research by a large percentage of people is never done to form their own opinions.
For Minneapolis/St. Paul, the general national perception is this: Ice Planet Hoth winters/Minnesota accent. Otherwise it's blank stares. Most people outside the Midwest assume the Twin Cities is a small/typically struggling Midwestern metro and know nothing else, aside from maybe knowing it's the location of the Mall of America.
I never visited the Twin Cities I definitely want to visit there someday. I've heard a lot more good things about Minnesota than bad plus you guys got chance to host a few Super Bowls. Most people think outside of Chicago that the Midwest is the Wastelands because it's not the "money" region like the Coasts or the Sunbelt.
I think it absolutely shapes people's perceptions, good and bad. Unfortunately, we live in a time where any further research by a large percentage of people is never done to form their own opinions.
I totally agree I've read some people on CD judge cities based on driving past the turnpike or visiting the airport. I've heard people say that about my city Cleveland "I drove thru Cleveland on I-90 and it didn't look appealing." That's not only stupid, it's ignorant. IMO, most people think that if a city isn't getting massive hype in the media or on social media it must be a s**hole. Me, I always try my best to have an open mind when I visit a city because you can find good food, drinks, things to do and beautiful women (for the ladies handsome men) in any and every city.
I think traditional media is still the biggest influencer here. The large-scale participatory nature of social media at least provides for some balance in depictions of certain places.
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