From flashy reels to primetime shouting matches, we are surrounded by stories—some true, many twisted, and most forgettable. But here’s a serious question: are the media and influencers telling us the stories that matter? The ones that affect our lungs, our roads, our safety, and our children’s future?

Are we hearing enough about toxic air, unsafe footpaths, public transport failures, or the collapsing infrastructure of our cities? Or are we being fed a steady diet of noise: celebrity feuds, political name-calling, and viral cringeworthy content?

Where Are the Real Headlines?

When was the last time a TV debate questioned why a city of millions doesn’t have clean public toilets or functional bus stops? Why do we still dodge potholes despite paying multiple taxes? Or why walking in our cities, something the Supreme Court calls a fundamental right, feels like a death wish?

We hear about climate change only after a cyclone hits. We talk about drainage only when floods drown our streets. We remember land use policies only after a landslide wipes out a hillside town.

The rest of the time? It’s back to the circus.

Why Aren’t Urban Issues Going Viral?

When a celebrity’s dog gets a luxury spa day, it gets more media coverage than 50 people dying in a bus accident caused by a broken bridge. That’s not a media glitch, it is a storytelling failure.

But let’s not just blame journalists or influencers. Are we, the audience, tuning out the things that matter because they aren’t “entertaining”? Is the issue low media coverage or low public interest?

Urban Planning Isn’t Boring. The Way We Talk About It Is.

Urban issues don’t need to sound like a PhD thesis. What if we told these stories the way advertisers sell soap?

Think about it—fear-based marketing convinced millions that not using antibacterial toothpaste equals danger. If branding can sell a ₹300 toothpaste, can’t we use the same power to sell the idea of safe streets, clean air, and green spaces?

Imagine if:

• Clean air was aspirational.
• Walking-friendly streets were status symbols.
• Public transport was marketed as the smart choice for achievers.
• Sustainable living wasn’t “activist talk” but a lifestyle flex.

The Missed Opportunity: Influencers as Change Catalysts

Influencers have inspired entire wardrobes, diets, and even careers. So why not civic habits? A reel showing how to sort household waste could go further than a government PSA. A viral challenge to plant trees in your neighbourhood could do more than 1,000 dusty plantation drives.

We’ve seen influencers drive fitness before Garba season, fuel the homeownership rush with 70-hour workweek flexes, and push branded sneakers as personality statements. What if the next wave made civic cool?

The Way Forward: Make It Catchy, Make It Count

• 🌍 Climate stories need to go prime time — not just after floods and famines, but as part of daily news cycles.
• 📲 Sustainability needs smart branding, think jingles, hashtags, lifestyle packaging.
• 🧠 Urban governance needs storytelling, not lectures, but punchy, relatable, real-life narratives.
• 🧵 Influencers need civic campaigns that spark curiosity, change behaviour, and build public pressure.

Because let’s face it: if gossip and glamour can dominate timelines, then so can clean air, safe mobility, and public accountability if we tell the story right.

This is the 7th article as part of a series exploring the paradoxes of Indian urban planning and seeking possible solutions. Read 1st article here,  2nd here,  3rd , 4th, ,  5th, and 6th here.