Should concert organizers or performers insist on banning phones?

It is not unheard of. American musician Jack White’s concert at the Capitol Theatre in December 2022 had a strict no-video and no-photos policy which he enforces in all his concerts to give the audience a fully immersive experience.

Unlike video cameras and tablets, it’s hard to ban phones at concert venues, especially in one as big as the National Stadium. It’s not necessarily in their commercial interests to do so either - fans sharing their concert experience helps keep the fan community engaged and growing.

Event platform Eventbrite pointed out the following paradox: Surveys show people want to share their experiences during events but also don’t want to be disrupted by phones.

It has also been suggested that concertgoers should adhere to the “don’t shoot above your eye level” rule. But this was new to me.

A friend, who in the past six months, has gone for nine overseas and local concerts - including the Maho Rasop Festival in Bangkok, the Hammersonic Festival in Jakarta, and Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kings of Convenience here - observed and confirmed a few things: Concertgoers everywhere recorded above eye level, and in the standing pen, it’s every man for himself.

It’s not just Blinks or K-pop, nor is such behavior unique to Singapore.

A quick YouTube search showed the same smartphone situation at the standing pen of other concerts in Singapore like Guns N’ Roses and Maroon 5 in November last year, and even BTS way back in January 2019.

It’s quite possible this unspoken rule isn’t widely known. Or it could be that when your idols are up on stage, all rules are out the window. Either way, smartphone recording is here to stay.

It’s a digital world we live in these days and to many, it’s part of the whole concert experience to record and share the fun times you’re having with your friends.

Considering some Blinks had been on-site even before the queueing zones for the standing pens officially opened at 2.30pm when the concert only started at 8pm, the adrenaline, fatigue, hunger, and overall waiting can add up, and the smallest inconvenience can trigger immense frustration.

It’s unrealistic for concertgoers at the standing pen to assume that no one should take the spot in front of them just because they were there first. Perhaps those in the standing pen just couldn’t see the stage very well - with or without smartphones blocking their view.

I noticed there wasn’t a lot of recording around me in the seated section. And when there was, it didn’t last longer than a minute.

At the end of the day, it boils down to having situational awareness and knowing when and how to be more considerate to everyone around you. After all, everyone at the concert is a fan.