Graffiti and its relationship with communities often sparks debate in it’s place of definition between art or vandalism. 
Classifying graffiti as art or vandalism can become a subjective discussion that often falls into the realm of opinion based on an individual’s perceptions of graffiti. In the discussion of classifying graffiti as either art or vandalism, there are a number of ways to look at graffiti that may help to define it either as art that is beneficial to society or vandalism which is detrimental to society.
Graffiti from the perspective of the mainstream public is often viewed through the lens of mainstream media sources. Be it through television, advertising or online sources, the presentation of graffiti by media frequently showcases graffiti that is highly artistic in the form of murals, pieces (masterpieces) and productions. In viewing this style of graffiti there can be little debate of the quality that is produced by these highly skilled artists. This graffiti is typically created by artists who have planned out their work, taking many hours or even days to complete either in conditions that provide the luxury of time, or with permission from the property owner or even as paid commissions. With graffiti of this nature many people would agree that the visual quality alone makes these works a positive element that in many cases enhances society and uplifts the visual appearance of communities.
Unfortunately, this is not an accurate representation of the majority of graffiti that is found on city streets. Instead of the highly artistic pieces, productions and murals portrayed in the media, the true face of street graffiti is marker pens and spray painted tags and throw ups scrawled on walls, windows, sidewalks, dumpsters, bus stops, shelters, news boxes, trains, buses, mirrors, or any other surface competing for space with no cohesion and little artistic merit.
Although, some taggers may aspire to produce highly artistic graffiti pieces, the majority of street level graffiti writers are either not able to paint at this level, or are not concerned with the artistic nature of the writing they do, preferring to get their tags up as quickly, and in as many places as possible. The reality is that a vast majority of writers who participate in graffiti are less concerned with creating art but hold the prime objective in building their reputations as taggers as their only priority. This unfortunately means gaining recognition by defacing as many highly visible locations as possible at a great financial and social cost to society (See Graffiti Basics).
Aside from the detriment impact that graffiti has on society, graffiti also poses a great deal of danger, risk and consequence to those that are immersed in the graffiti subculture and those that participate in graffiti.