Photography and graffiti are hobbies with some similarities.

In some respects people who post photographs on social media web sites display similar behaviour to graffiti artists. Motivation might differ but the quality of the art will vary in both cases.

Graffiti artists are mainly in the age range 13 to 25. Some are angry, others are attention-seekers. Graffiti can provide a safety valve for the artists who might use it as an alternative to more dangerous acts of violence.

Sometimes graffiti marks territory. Often gangs use it to do this. Occasionally graffiti artists leave derogatory or defamatory messages. Sometimes one graffiti artist falls into a kind of competition with another. They might or might not personally know each other. Many graffiti artists are solitary by temperament.

Graffiti artists spend considerable sums on spray paint, or risk police attention by shop-lifting supplies.

“Tags", or a stylised writing of a person's name, are common in graffiti but have little aesthetic appeal. On the other hand some good quality work is often seen and graffiti has to be considered an art form. Graffiti art has been shown in various galleries in New York and London.

Because graffiti utilises canvasses which do not belong to the artist, and which are mostly not portable, it arouses strong resentment and spreads the anger to other people. In this respect it is socially negative and divisive.

Graffiti makes political statements whether it intends to or not.