Maybe this is just me imagining things and is being completely wrong. I have just been thinking about this question and especially after watching Home Alone 2 in New York. It may just be that I think it looks more crowded in the movies because it actually is a set filled with people, but also there probably should be some truth to it as you now can do so much online that makes people able to stay inside instead of walk to a location.
I am also wondering if the movies represent the real life rush hour, and probably always shows the “most crowded” times of the day.
Are any of you living of have been living in New York that has seen a difference, or am I just imagining the change?
The screenshot is from this video (1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT4lDU-QLUY witch I feel is giving me the vibes I am talking about.
I don’t know about New York specifically but I have noticed a decline of people just generally going outdoors over the last few decades. The internet, streaming TV, remote working, online shopping and unabated capitalism has all had a compounded effect on people’s desire to do just about anything.