Visual Pollution: Billboards, Trash Dump, Automobiles Affect Mental Health – Study

By Daniel Adaji, Obiabin Onukwugha, Farida Salifu, and Grace Samuel

In a world filled with ever-increasing visual clutter, experts are sounding the alarm on a pervasive but often overlooked menace: visual pollution.

Notably, this phenomenon has been found to be detrimental to mental health, emphasizing the need for individuals, parents, and governments to address this silent threat.

A recent study conducted by Dr. Yashpal D Netragaonkar in India has revealed that visual pollution has the power to disrupt the human mind, potentially causing harm to mental health.

It can lead to disruptions in sleep patterns and circadian rhythms, contributing to mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, mood swings, paranoia, and anxiety.

Visual pollution encompasses a wide array of man-made eyesores, including billboards, unsightly trash storage, space debris, telephone towers, electric wires, buildings, and automobiles.

Despite being often disregarded, research underscores its significant impact on mental well-being. It has been associated with a range of issues, from anxiety, headaches, and nervousness to psychological stress.

Overstimulation of the visual senses strains the eyes, leading to fatigue and potentially more serious conditions.

Moreover, visual pollution has been linked to sleep deprivation, mental irritability, and disturbances in both children and adults. Its detrimental effects are far-reaching and can be a hidden source of mental anguish.

Several parts of Nigeria are known to be littered with “offensive visuals,” ranging from billboard contents to dump sites comprising solid and liquid waste, as well as obscene content on social media platforms. This issue has been exacerbated by the proliferation of digital tools for creating visuals.

For instance, Twitter and TikTok are replete with adult content that is promoted on the platforms without restrictions.

Our observations have shown that on Twitter, this content is posted during the early parts of the night, when the majority of internet users would have retired from work or students would have been off from school.

Measuring visual pollution is a challenging task, but a tool for its assessment has been developed.

This tool records the characteristics of various visual pollution objects (VPOs), assigns weights, and calculates a visual pollution score.

It is applicable at micro and macro scales, making it versatile for assessing visual pollution in diverse settings.

Alternative methods for evaluating visual pollution include subjective perception assessments, systematic observation, physiological monitoring, laboratory experiments, and computer-assisted auditing and evaluation.

Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, known as the Garden City, is no different from other parts of the country.

The city has lost its beauty due to poor waste management, billboards, signposts, and indiscriminate posting of bills.

Several laws have been put in place, such as the Rivers Signage and Advertisement Law and the Environmental Protection and Management Law, but they have not effectively curbed the placement of billboards or acts that constitute visual pollution.

In Port Harcourt, poor sanitation practices also contribute to visual pollution, with residents often littering the streets with items like pure water sachets, minerals, banana peels, and more.

In Aba, the commercial hub of the city, heaps of garbage, broken-down roads, and trucks are major sources of visual pollution.

However, many residents in these cities are not aware of the impact of visual pollution on their behavior and mental health.

They often perceive billboards as directional tools and blame the government for not implementing laws to curb waste dumping.

In Abuja, a resident shared a story of how her daughter was affected by a horror anime scene, highlighting the potential impact of what we watch on our minds.

To address visual pollution, various methods can be considered, including regulating outdoor advertising, planting trees and greenery, improving urban design, and encouraging public participation.

These methods can be used together to create a comprehensive approach to reducing visual pollution.

While there are no definitive examples of cities that have successfully reduced visual pollution, some cities like Chicago and Los Angeles in the USA have made progress in improving air quality, which indirectly reduces visual pollution.

While there is no direct correlation between visual pollution and mental health, it is clear that visual pollution can negatively affect one’s mental well-being.

It is crucial to take steps to reduce visual pollution in our environment to promote a healthy and positive living space.