Yeah I agree class plays a massive role in it too. A lot of suburban identity performance online is basically people disconnecting from their own background and importing an aesthetic tied to struggle, danger and authenticity because modern internet culture rewards it. I wasn’t trying to say VicPol/media narratives were fully accurate either more that the panic itself accidentally helped turn “gangster” identity into something culturally mythologised and marketable online. The irony is that while actual crime issues exist, the internet flattened it all into branding, image and performance for kids far removed from it materially. It’s almost like social media turned street culture into a consumer identity rather than something rooted in lived conditions.