Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images
Saturdays in Greenwich Village require contending with the lines. Starting at 9 a.m., you see blocks-long queues of people waiting for all sorts of things: bagels, pastries, pizza, soggy sandwiches, premium frozen yogurt with candy on it. Even if you don’t want to, you will get swept up in a line, because they take over the sidewalks.
To be honest, I don’t mind. The lines are the visible representation of capitalism at work. Commerce, meritocracy, the fruits of technological innovation — all are on display, thanks to the rise of the influencer economy.
I’m also aware that all these people aren’t waiting for the food, exactly. The lines exist because someone posted a short video saying this French dip will change your life or this dotcake is the best in the city. The line-waiter wants to get that sandwich or cake so they can share their experience and grow their audience, or maybe just gain the approval of their network. According to one survey, 60% of Generation Z — and 48% of millennials — say they waited in line for more than 30 minutes to eat a specific food in the last year. Most say they’d do it again, and that at least part of the motivation was to post on social media.
Continue reading the entire piece here at Bloomberg Opinion (paywall)
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Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.