Video pollution

Overwhelming video screens in buses, taxis and apartment elevators are depriving us from a already scarce resource: a moment of peace. Taking a nap or reading a book on buses is less possible now, for the LCD screens broadcast news, entertainment and advertisements incessantly at unbearable volumes.

We take the bus simply to get a ride, but now we are forced to watch and listen. Bus companies work together with advertising companies to provide you with this complimentary service, whether you like it or not. If it’s crowded, the noise from this “entertainment” is even more irritating. In a megacity like Shanghai, it is getting harder to find a quite public place free of this kind of video pollution.

It is true that some people may like to be entertained by watching programmes in public places. But the fact is that those who don’t should not be disturbed. Their rights to quietly enjoy a bus ride should be equally protected. Because of bus videos, students cannot concentrate on reviewing what they have learned. People who like to contemplate feel unsettled because of the noise. Youngsters who like to listen to music through earphones must increase the volume to offset the competing audio. If people feel stressed after a busy day, the attendant bus video advertising certainly aggravates the tension. Bus drivers and conductors are certainly the worst victims because they have to bear it all the way. A high public tolerance for — and low public awareness of — noise pollution makes it possible for bus video advertisers to expand their businesses unscrupulously.

To protect passengers and passers-by, each concerned party should take effective measures. The governments should make laws to fight against such video pollution in public places, just as they deal with other kind of pollutions. They are supposed to take action to protect public interests from being undermined and protect the consumers’ rights. The general public, which relies heavily on public transit system and opposes bus video screens, should also negotiate with consumer rights associations, bus companies and advertisers, before these companies discover other places for the screens. Companies investing in the bus video industry should behave themselves and alter their business strategies, because rising public awareness may block their way.

While the bus TV market may be profitable, bus companies and advertising firms are simply unethical to implement the screens in buses. More and more people are rising up for their rights now. Bus video screens do not strike harmony at the time when we are talking about building a harmonious society.