Arage room, also known as awreck room,smash room, oranger room, is a room where people can vent theirrage by destroying objects. Firms offer access to such rooms on a rental basis.[1][2]
Rage rooms may include living room and kitchen replicas with furnishings and items such as televisions,desks,small appliances and decorative items includingearthenware andglassware. Clients may be allowed to bring their own possessions to destroy.[3]
Rage rooms have spread across the world, beginning in 2009.[4] They providestress relief, with controversy over psychological effectiveness,[5] and safety risks, requiring the use of protective gear.[6]
The first rage rooms were likely in Japan in 2008 or earlier.[4] The concept has spread to other countries, such asSerbia, theUnited Kingdom,[2]Austria,[7]Argentina,[2]Nigeria,[8] andCanada.[9] As of 2018, hundreds of rage rooms operated in cities across the United States.[2]
Independently, Donna Alexander created an early rage room in herDallas garage in 2008, using items abandoned on the street. She opened the Anger Room, a 1,000-square-foot Dallas warehouse in 2011.[10] Alexander stated that she created the facility to combat violence by giving people a safe place to take out their aggressions.
In February 2021, Italian artist Colline di tristezza proposed to set up rage rooms andcrying rooms in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools to decrease the risk of staffburnout.[11]
Rage rooms hold controversy for their effectiveness within the psychology field. Some psychologists believe rage rooms give only a temporary fix with inadequate emotional management, and argue that they may lead to more aggression later on, such as encouraging violence outside the room and intensifying anger and violence within individuals, especially those with anger issues.[12] Other psychologists believe that expressing anger in a rage room is healthy, giving short-term relief.[5] For the most part, rage rooms are better atstress relief than at dealing with actual anger or rage violently.[2] Some of the stress-relieving effect may be due to thephysical exercise involved.[13]
While rage rooms provide a relatively safe place for destroying things, risks include slipping and falling, flying debris from items being smashed, and emotional injury. Because of this, establishments require participants to wear safety gear such aseye protection,coveralls, and gloves, and to sign aliability waiver.[6]
Depending upon the objects being destroyed, participants and especially theworkers, who have all-day, everyday exposure to bothairborne particles and contact from cleaning up the mess afterwards, may be exposed totoxic chemicals, such as themercury in old electronics,lead inleaded glass,[14] andlithium inlithium ion batteries.[15] High-risk items includefluorescent light bulbs,batteries, andCRT screens (such as found in older televisions). These may cause effects on the environment, such as fires and explosions, if standard precautions are not followed.[15]
As of 2023, local governments are beginning to prohibit the smashing of electronics in rage rooms to protect the environment, including Los Angeles.[15]
