“No Graffiti” “No Dumping or Littering” “No Photography” “No Food and Drink” “No Parking” . . .
When you go to the street, an office or a restaurant where many people go, you can easily see various warning signs or the sign that says, “Video Surveillance in Progress.” There was a research that counted the signs in Seoul, which is a busy area, and they found that there were about 2,000 warning signs on the walls, pillars, and entrances of buildings when they walked about 13 km (6 miles). It’s like one sign in every nine steps. Regarding this, a psychologist said, “It is an inevitable measure for maintaining order and safety, but if it is excessive, it can act as psychological suppression on the community, which can become the source of various psychological pathologies such as depression and the feeling of emptiness.”
It is the same with words. If we continue to use coercive words such as “No,” “Don’t do it,” or “You will have to pay for this,” it may harm each other’s mental health. It is said that children who grow up hearing these words are more likely to fail to speak their thoughts and decide not to communicate. We should cultivate a good habit of speaking positive words rather than negative words, suggestions rather than warnings, and soft words rather than strong words.