Abstract
Background: Media advertisements displaying aggression and violence in public transit spaces represent a public health concern. The high visibility of ads likely contributes to increased levels of aggression among New York City (NYC) youths traveling across boroughs. Given the importance of the physical, psychological and social environment in shaping the lives of youth, additional attention is warranted regarding how media advertisements are promoted within public transit spaces across America. The aim of this study was to document quantity and placement of advertisements illustrating aggressive and violent content throughout the NYC public transit subway system. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a five-day period in June 2017. Direct observation was used to document all advertisements within every NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) subway station (N = 472) in four NYC boroughs: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Static media advertisements with/without aggressive and violent content displayed on subway platform wall panels above and underground were counted, photographed and described with a mobile app. Results: Aggressive and violent ads in the MTA were pervasive. Subway platforms displayed advertising consisting of guns, individuals fighting and attacking, and words with aggressive language. Conclusion: Public transit spaces provide unregulated visual and verbal messages without citizen participation. Subway stations in NYC and across the country prohibition stance could be a model for violent content reduction. Given the pervasive and tragic effects of aggression and violence on youth and adults, transit agencies could inundate passengers with positive advertising content. Dialogue between citizens and transit agencies to remove noxious messages from public transit spaces warrants the same discussion given to banning alcohol advertisements.
Highlights
Media is a pervasive and important influence on the environment because of its reach and potential harmful effects
Message cues can be thought of as cognitive scripts that may develop into steadfast memorable moments that result from constant exposure to violent content that could eventually translate into aggression expressed in social situations.[2]
There was a total of 472 subway stations (Figure 2) with and without advertisements, summarized in Table 1 across four observed boroughs
Summary
Media is a pervasive and important influence on the environment because of its reach and potential harmful effects. Individuals younger than age 25 account for more than 20% of all public transit riders in the United States.[3] New York City (NYC) operates the largest public Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) subway system in the U.S and serves the five boroughs of NYC. 600,000 Metrocards (e.g., subway tokens) are distributed by the NYC MTA each year to students living in NYC Given the importance of the physical, psychological and social environment in shaping the lives of youth, additional attention is warranted regarding how media advertisements are promoted within public transit spaces across America. The aim of this study was to document quantity and placement of advertisements illustrating aggressive and violent content throughout the NYC public transit subway system. Given the pervasive and tragic effects of aggression and violence on youth and adults, transit agencies could inundate passengers with positive advertising content. Dialogue between citizens and transit agencies to remove noxious messages from public transit spaces warrants the same discussion given to banning alcohol advertisements
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