Hidden threats of Visual pollution: health and the environment

The more modern technology in the current era offers a lot of convenience and practicality for humans. However, it is also bringing more and more visual pollution, either digitally or in the real world.

Perhaps not a few Eigerians have felt a visual disturbance at some point around their place of residence. Basically, this type of pollution is a serious thing to deal with considering the impact is also quite significant.

In urban areas, you can try to get out to the main road area, or even a small road in the village. The number of banners, neon boxes, banners, or other ‘garbage’ is always present and disturbing. So let’s explore more about this visual garbage, and understand its impact so that we can start acting to actually reduce the bad effects of it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Know What Is Visual Pollution
2 Impact Of Visual Pollution On Mental Health
2.1 1. Increases stress and anxiety
2.2 2. Interferes with concentration and productivity
2.3 3. Decreased Quality Of Life
3 From The Environmental Side, Here Are Some Of The Impacts Of Visual Pollution
3.1 1. Damage To Environmental Aesthetics
3.2 2. Affect the behavior of existing animals
3.3 3. Contribution to climate change occurring
4 Then what solutions can be done?

What Is Visual Pollution
visual pollution
Source: freepik.com
In general, visual pollution can be defined as any form of visual disturbance that is undesirable and disrupts the aesthetics of the environment. Furthermore, this type of waste is not small with types that also vary.

Some of the most obvious examples may be large billboards, banners, illegal graffiti, commercial advertisements that are out of place, banners of legislative candidates or the like, to the rest of the event or event that has passed but still has not been taken down from its place.

Not only that, visual pollution can also refer to cables that are not well organized, irregular infrastructure, uncontrolled development, and much more.

Basically all those things that are out of place and spoil the aesthetics of the environment in general.

Impact Of Visual Pollution On Mental Health
visual pollution
Source: freepik.com
It is immediately clear that this type of pollution interferes with the eyes of the people who live around it. But sometimes this pollution is ignored because it is considered normal. Without realizing it, there is an impact on mental health that is actually significant, and important to note.

  1. Increases stress and anxiety
    Visual pollution scattered in almost every place unwittingly becomes a stimulus to the brain. The amount of this stimulus makes it difficult for the brain to process information effectively, so its work will be disrupted.

The study is called a STUDY of VISUAL POLLUTION AND its EFFECT on MENTAL HEALTH by Sudipta Banerjee. This type of pollution can make the brain get too much stimulation, damaging the working hours and mechanisms that ideally run normally, with clear hours of rest and active hours.

  1. Interferes with concentration and productivity
    Visual pollution that comes from advertising or marketing efforts is clearly intended to attract the attention of anyone who sees it. Imagine if objects like this were scattered on the street, in rooms, and in every corner of the city, what would happen to concentration and productivity?

A person whose attention is distracted continuously will have lower concentration, thus having the effect of significantly decreasing their productivity over time. Examples of this can be seen in a variety of places and contexts, from school children to workers.

  1. Decreased Quality Of Life
    The appearance of a feeling of discomfort due to continuous exposure to visual pollution will also have a direct impact on reducing the quality of life. The sense of pleasure and happiness that appears less and less in level, so that a person is difficult to feel a calming happiness.

In addition, someone who is ‘used’ to visual pollution will also have a feeling of discomfort that is not clear the cause, because the effects that arise accumulate for too long and become too complex.

In Terms Of The Environment, Here Are Some Of The Effects Of Visual Pollution
visual pollution
Source: freepik.com
Similar to the first point that discusses the impact of visual pollution on mental health, in this second part there are also three major effects that appear for the environment.

A brief explanation of the three is as follows.

  1. Damage To Environmental Aesthetics
    The aesthetics of the environment will be compromised due to the presence of this visual pollution. Especially if then visual pollution appears at strategic points that actually accentuate aesthetics, whether natural or cityscapes that intentionally or not have a beauty value.

In one of the articles in aceh.tribunnews.com, Banda Aceh was named as one of the cities that experienced considerable visual pollution. The article, written in 2023, stated that the existing protocol streets in the area already contain many banners, billboards, shop or company signboards, to posters of various sizes.

Obviously, this reduces the beauty of Banda Aceh which has a big name not only in Indonesia but also in Southeast Asia.

  1. Affect the behavior of existing animals
    The behavior of animals in nature, especially in urban areas, is undergoing changes that also do not have a good impact. Like humans, animals also have their own biological clocks, which use the reference of day and night as their time of activity.

Visual pollution, which often involves the use of large-powered lights or flashy displays, produces artificial light that disrupts the animals ‘ biological clocks. Nocturnal animals will experience confusion, similar to what animals that are active during the day experience.

Obviously, indirectly, the lifestyle they have will be disturbed, and it is not impossible to experience disturbances in their reproduction.

  1. Contribution to climate change occurring
    Although the scale is not yet certain, but the production and installation of excessive media material will have an adverse effect on carbon emissions caused. What happens when carbon emissions continue to rise? The result is global warming and climate change that we are now feeling.

Again, although the amount of carbon emissions can not be mapped in detail, but there are several percent of emissions that come from activities that produce this visual pollution.

Then what solutions can be done?
visual pollution
Source: EIGER Adventure
Of the several problems that arise due to garbage and visual pollution above, there are at least three solutions that can be attempted. All three are related to solutions from the government and society in general.

The first is related to stricter regulations and policies related to objects or things that can be polusivisual. The public can urge the government to make better regulations so that the installation of advertising and outdoor media that are the nature of information dissemination can be managed more neatly and wisely. Some of the cities that could eventually have better policies in this regard are Sao Paulo, then Beijing, and others. Slowly but surely, his policies and government have taken progressive steps to address this.

Second, increased public awareness. The public, including you who are reading this article, must be increasingly aware of the dangers of visual pollution. In addition to having an impact on the mental, this can also have an impact on consumption patterns, even to the point of disrupting existing ecosystems for other living beings. The initiative that can be replicated is actually quite simple, namely providing a special location to install various types of outdoor media, then removing the banner or banner after the momentum is complete, or even providing an installation period and fines on late release of various related attributes.

Third, implement a more environmentally friendly urban design. This is indeed macro, but if there is pressure and initiative from the community, this can be realized. Not only will it improve the aesthetics of the city or region, the sustainability of the environment will also be more assured. For example, you can refer to Copenhagen, then Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, and so on.

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Visual pollution must begin to be considered a serious problem, because otherwise the development that occurs as well as human activities will be increasingly crowded by this disorder. Not only that, significant changes will appear, thus making the existing order can no longer be run properly.

For the good of humanity, the natural ecosystem and the city in which it lives, changes must be made. The little thing that can start a clear progressive step is to control the banner or media used to promote the business, then it can be continued with the arrangement of cables that start irregularly. Moving the cable from the power pole to the underground can be a solution for this, although it will take time for its implementation.


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