The Rise of Urban-to-Rural Migration: Insights from TikTok
Study analyses 901 TikTok videos (24 million views) on urban-to-rural migration in Romania, showing how social media shapes idealized images of rural life, creates new forms of digital labour, and influences perceptions of relocation through the concept of digital rurality.
More and more Europeans are choosing life in the countryside. People are leaving major urban centers and even giving up their lives abroad, increasingly opting to settle in rural areas instead.
This trend was recently examined in Romania through the lens of TikTok.
By the end of 2025, users had published videos under specific hashtags dedicated to moving from cities to the countryside. Researchers collected 901 videos for analysis. At the time of data collection, these videos had accumulated a total of 24 million views, demonstrating substantial public interest in the topic.
Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, alongside the concept of digital rurality, the researchers explored how digital technologies shape the image of rural areas, influence the everyday lives of their residents, and affect the ways these spaces are represented in media.
The study found that TikTok has become an important tool for promoting rural lifestyles. A significant number of content creators use the platform as a source of income, showcasing their daily routines, living conditions, and experiences of relocating to the countryside. In this way, social media creates new forms of paid work in rural areas, although many creators do not openly acknowledge the commercial aspect of their activities.
TikTok has also increased the visibility of some of Romania’s remote rural regions in the digital space. As content about these locations spreads online, more people begin to consider them not only as places to live but also as destinations for tourism and recreation.
The researchers further note that creators often idealize and romanticize rural life. Many videos portray a peaceful existence close to nature, traditional household activities, and a rejection of the fast-paced urban lifestyle, creating an appealing and often simplified image of life in the countryside.
These accounts frequently become spaces for discussions on a wide range of topics, from healthy living and nutrition to religious and political beliefs. In some cases, creators share medical advice without relevant expertise or express skepticism toward Western medicine.
As a result, social media platforms are not only documenting the trend of urban-to-rural migration but are also shaping new perceptions of rural living and potentially influencing people's decisions to relocate.