This research investigates the influence of social media material on urban image and urban conative behaviour across Chinese Generation Z. Utilising the Stimulus–Organism–reaction (SOR) framework, it formulates an enhanced model wherein real-time content perception (RTCP) and empathy function as dual organism-level mechanisms connecting external content inputs to urban image and subsequent behavioural response. Three types of social media stimuli are looked at: electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), c