SL Campaign: Swedes Disturb in Public Transport

Illustrating articles on topics such as so-called honor killings with blonde girls has long been a tactic of the media. Now SL, which operates Stockholm’s public transportation, is attempting something similar.

Greater Stockholm’s public transport is currently running a campaign aiming to address the problem of passengers disturbing others by playing videos and the like on their mobile phones. This phenomenon is closely related to another annoying trend—the insistence of some people on using speakerphone so that everyone around them is forced to listen to various languages.

The campaign is illustrated with a Swedish woman. “Anita”, who also appears to be middle-aged, is sitting and watching a TikTok video at high volume, while “Samir” sits next to her with headphones, minding his own business and being annoyed by the noisy Swede beside him.

“Anita loves TikTok. So does Samir. With headphones.”

And a little further down:

“Your journey is also others’. With consideration and care, it becomes more pleasant for everyone.”

In the video version on social media, it says: “Don’t forget your headphones when you scroll or talk on your mobile. Remember. Your journey is also others’.”

Happens with Everyone

When Samnytt contacts SL and asks why it singles out Swedish women as problematic when, in reality, it is usually immigrant youths causing disruption, press manager Andreas Strömberg responds that they do not comment on “individual interpretations of the image.”

– The purpose of the communication is to highlight recognizable situations in public transport—not to describe or point out specific groups. We assume that these behaviors can occur with anyone, and that public transport is a shared space where we all need to show consideration for each other, says Strömberg to Samnytt.

– The focus is therefore on the situation, not on the people featured in it. The image in question is one of several examples in a broader information initiative about care and comfort in public transport.