Photos Or It Didn’t Happen: Are We On Our Phones Too Much At Shows? YES

I go to a lot of shows, a lot. And to be honest, there’s nothing I love more than going to see a band play live to soak up the environment, sing my guts out and “dance” until the music stops. I have been doing this since I was old enough to drive and not much has changed about how I take it all in. However, the one thing that has changed my show experience is CELL PHONES! Now I am guilty of this sometimes, but why are we all on our phones during the show? We all want to snag a great photo of the band to remember the night — but wait, didn’t we all pay to SEE the band LIVE – not to go back later and look at our Instagram photos that we posted during the show?

Saw this last night and it got me thinking.

For instance, last week I went to see The 1975 (and knowing there we didn’t get a pass for a photographer); I took photos on my phone to put in my show recap. Usually I do try and get at least one photo to post from shows, but I wait till I am home to share the moment. I don’t want to waste precious dancing/singing time trying to reload my phone because the cell service where I am requires me to continually hit refresh.

Get your shot and then drop the phone. Dance around!

It really bums me out when I see my peers doing this. I already admitted earlier I am guilty of this fromt time to time and have made a conscious effort to soak in these precious experiences — and be selfish enough to keep them for myself. I don’t need to share with everyone in real-time. I am not CNN. I mean heck, I am the one who paid for the ticket, right? I should be in the moment, because I can post a photo anytime — but I can’t go back to feeling infinite in a packed club while someone I admire is pouring their heart out on stage. I can also see how social networking has become a platform to share everything and some of us want to share those moments with as many people as possible – I am just not one of them.

And what a bummer for the band to look out and see half of the crowd on their phones. I guess the bottom line is we can all soak in the show how we want, but I prefer to be in the moment.

Get your hands up, not your phones!

Photos or it didn’t happen OR should we just turn it off. Because let’s face it, #musicrules.

I’d love to hear what you guys think about all of this.

Let’s talk music, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.