Is there less graffiti on bathroom walls where you live?

September 22, 2023 7:50 AM

Apologies if this question comes off silly, but the other day I was in a public bathroom stall and saw a small scribble and it struck me that it had been years since I'd seen bathroom graffiti. Of course, I've also been in less public bathrooms due to the pandemic. On the other hand, given that bathroom graffiti was always at least partly a product of idleness, and now many people bring their phones everywhere, a decrease in bathroom graffiti seems plausible. Particularly keen to hear from Mefites who are Gen X and older, but all observations welcome.
posted by coffeecat to Grab Bag (16 answers total)

Depends entirely on how bougie the place is. Wants to attract yuppies? Clean, instagrammable bathrooms. Wants to have a dive bar vibe? Bathrooms are never repainted. Tim Hortons/fast food? Crapshoot, though generally there's *some*. This is in Toronto.

I'm assuming you don't mean "public" as in a city amenity, but rather as in "somewhat publicly accessible"? Not something we have ton of here, but they often have much more specific, directed writing on them.
posted by sagc at 7:55 AM on September 22, 2023

I won't rewrite it all here, but this previous answer of mine might be relevant. As well as the fact people are more likely to be immersed in reading their phones while on the throne these days, than idly staring at the wall as they did in bygone days.
posted by penguin pie at 7:59 AM on September 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: I'm assuming you don't mean "public" as in a city amenity, but rather as in "somewhat publicly accessible"?

Yes, I just mean publicly accessible (including publics that might be limited, like a workplace bathroom that requires a keycard)
posted by coffeecat at 8:08 AM on September 22, 2023

I am old and agree that I have seen less graffiti everywhere than in the past. High end places, dive bars, schools, universities, fast food restaurants, public restrooms, you name it. I agree with the phone idea of entertainment but also phones make the need for carrying around a writing instrument obsolete as well. So maybe ready access to pens/markers contributes too?
posted by maxg94 at 8:08 AM on September 22, 2023 [22 favorites]

I've also noticed less graffiti, and I miss it! I may just be spending more time in coffee shops now and less time in dive bars. I also notice less writing in university campus bathrooms, though.

The trend for more places to have a key or code to access the bathrooms may also play into this, it adds a little friction vs. just going to the loo.
posted by momus_window at 9:04 AM on September 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I still see a fair bit of bathroom graffiti (not coincidentally, I spend a lot of time in less fancy bars). I agree that there's definitely a type of place that used to have bathroom graffiti and now has elaborate insta-ready fancy bathrooms though, you know, with clever neon signs and fake greenery or whatnot. People don't seem eager to deface someone's really nice renovation.

I tell you what I see more of than I used to, are stickers, like sometimes stickers specifically designed for sticking in a bar bathroom, e.g., "Kelly Cried in This Bathroom."

Most recently I spotted the following sharpie'd on a bathroom wall:

MY NECK
MY BACK
BOTH TOO WEAK TO HOLD MY RACK
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:10 AM on September 22, 2023 [16 favorites]

I think it's a combination of less boredom and fewer pens, both of which are a function of smart phones.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:12 AM on September 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

I see a fair amount of live music in clubs still and the bathroom stalls are still full of all the graffiti you'd expect. (One local bar upgraded to fancy cocktails and nice bathrooms about a decade back and I still miss leftside women's stall for the classic AMANDA, I WAS BORN A UNICORN . . . .IN A CROSSFIRE HURRICANE).
posted by thivaia at 9:22 AM on September 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

If you can now be an anonymous asshole on the internet, what's the need to write on bathroom walls?
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 9:36 AM on September 22, 2023 [7 favorites]

Agreeing with jacquilynne about more smartphones and fewer pens/markers being carried around.

I'd add there are also fewer pocketknives for the gouging/scraping graffiti method, and there are a lot more metal detectors and surveillance cameras.
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 10:35 AM on September 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

In some of the ""dive bars"" (large air quotes), they'll set up a big chalkboard, or paint the walls with chalkboard paint, and set out some chalk. Whenever I see that, there tends to be a lot of messages so I bet it is a function of material availability. And I still see a ton of stickers.
posted by fillsthepews at 11:09 AM on September 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: fillsthepews comment is making me realize that a corresponding question might be, are raising rents in cities across the country leading to less legit dive bars/urban spaces where degenerates (a term I use with affection and no judgement) can feel welcome? Anyhow, thanks for all the answers- I hadn't considered how cell phones have likely led to less people carrying around pens.
posted by coffeecat at 11:34 AM on September 22, 2023

I do see a ton more bathrooms covered in stickers vs. graffiti these days (NYC) – stickers have taken on some of the role of "putting things on walls illegally" it seems.
posted by wemayfreeze at 4:00 PM on September 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Yes to stickers! I see LOTS of stickers all over the city—and in bathroom stalls as well. (I’m not seeing necessarily less graffiti, but actually more public murals in the last few years. I feel like graffiti and murals are both being embraced and I’m really glad/think it’s beautiful). This is in Chicago, btw.
posted by marimeko at 4:13 PM on September 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

It’s been a very long time since I saw a phone number and details for a gay hookup on a toilet door. They used to absolutely cover the walls, dozens and dozens.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:59 PM on September 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

Way less graffiti, and I agree the boredom/pens is a factor, but I also think the lack of community is another factor? Less people have "regular" haunts, and so there's less of an urge to communicate.
posted by corb at 8:29 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]