“Are y’all okay?”: Viewers clown New York “safety tips” video as excessive and weird

A TikToker offering tips to “stay safe” in New York was met with advice to simply visit any other city if she’s that scared of the Big Apple. The early November video demonstrates numerous tactics that allegedly promote personal safety, but many commenters found them to be excessive, to say the least.

Safety tips for the New York-phobic

On Nov. 1, 2025, TikToker @victorias.way posted a one-minute video showing all the ways in which she acted to protect herself, her kid, and her possessions from the villains she seems to think inhabit New York at a greater rate than any other city.

@victorias.way Stay safe in New York🌆 I’ll share some tips that helped me stay aware and enjoy the city without any issues🗽✨ #newyork #safetravel #traveltips #citysafety #safetytips ♬ Welcome To New York (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift

She straps her purse around her legs, puts a tracking device on her annoyed son, dresses up her drink in some kind of BDSM costume, and blocks her hotel room door like Liam Neeson is hunting her down. It’s unclear what that blinking, beeping device is supposed to do in a city as bright, loud, and crowded as New York.

The video gained over 7.1 million views in a week and a half, but many viewers appear to be hate watching. The comments on both TikTok and the inevitable r/CringeTikToks post widely wonder why she visited the city at all.

Certain types have long targeted New York with content assuming that this area is less safe than any other in spite of all that data people take the time to collect. Crime rates per capita in New York are not that high compared to many other cities.

Wikipedia’s ranking of the most crime-ridden cities, based on 2024 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, puts Memphis, Tennessee at the top spot for violent crime. The city of New York sits at 67 out of the 200 locations listed. Major crime stats in America’s most populous city have also been falling steadily for years.

“The relentless audacity”

New Yorkers, people from more dangerous cities, and even international folks all came together to roast this TikToker for her excessive caution. Many asked why she would visit New York at all if she’s that afraid of the people there.

She’s never going to beat the tourist allegations with this behavior.

Residents of the city in particular came out to say they’ve never felt the need to barricade a door like that.

“I’m born and raised in NYC, and never, NOT ONCE ever needed to do any of this,” reported @dyanasaur_rex on TikTok. “Are y’all okay?”

“You go to New York twice a year you do not have to do any of this nonsense,” said @salinaj. “Be mindful yes but just like you would be anywhere.”

On Reddit, viewers were less kind.

“There’s forever some white lady at an intersection in quadruple knotted Sketchers, death-gripping her Marshall’s purse next to a Black man minding all of his own beeswax in a pair of Jordan 4s and Kith sweatpants that cost more than her car payment,” wrote u/OaxacalypseNow.

“The relentless audacity of blindly assuming everyone who looks different from you wants what you have.”

“The only thing that was useful was the air tag on the kid and the sticker to help the cops identify the body,” noted u/OldManRiversIIc. “Everything else will not protect you from the diversity.”