More than four billion people use public transit globally, per Statista, which makes it the prime setting for advertising to consumers.
However, one public transit user noticed a strange placement of advertising material on their daily commute. They snapped a picture of the advertising placement and shared it on the r/Melbourne subreddit.
"I'm sure this tram advert is very creative… but I have no idea when my stop is coming up!" the original poster wrote.
The accompanying photo reveals the obscured visual from inside the tram, showing how the advertisement on the tram's exterior completely blocks riders from seeing outside of the glass.
"This should legitimately be banned on buses and trams," one user stated.
Public transit connects people with resources and spaces, allowing them to get to school or work and receive health care, with little regard to their socioeconomic status and whether or not they own a car.
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Covering the windows of public transit with advertisements turns a shared public resource into a mobile advertisement that is more concerned with achieving marketing and sales goals than it is with serving the local community effectively.
Constant exposure to advertisements, which has become the norm for modern living, also encourages excessive consumption, which drives consumers to spend beyond their means, leading to growing consumer debt.
Overconsumption, which reinforces the mass production of new products due to increased consumer demand, also depletes natural resources used to create those new products.
The energy spent on manufacturing and production intensifies global gas pollution that results in rising temperatures and a host of environmental consequences that make life on earth much more difficult for both humans and wildlife.
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Should plastic grocery bags be banned nationwide? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Absolutely 👍 Despite how common overconsumption is, you can improve your purchasing habits and the impact of consumerism by buying things secondhand and finding ways to reuse or repurpose a product to fit your needs.
On the other hand, declutter your space by donating your items, helping others in need while diverting still-usable products from entering the landfills.
When you adopt and practice sustainable consumer habits, you become less likely to be swayed by mobile advertisements that plague the modern world.
"God I loathe those ad wraps," one user wrote.
"Use your GPS on your phone to figure out when your stop is coming up, or use the live function of the PTV app," another Redditor suggested to the OP.
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