27 Percent Of Young People Favor Phone Ban At Concerts

UK-based ticketing platform Skiddle sent out a questionnaire to its customer base, which revealed that 27 percent of young people, i.e. people between 16 and 30 years old, want to ban mobile phones at live gigs.  

Chris Bradshaw/ShipRocked – Snappin’ A Selfie
ShipRockers nab a selfie with Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge.

The data is based on 1,200 responses. Of those in favor of a phone ban, 37 percent said they were distracting, 34 percent said they take away from the experience, 20 percent said they block the view of the artist or band, and 8 percent said filming and photography was disrespectful to the artist or band.

Of the 74 percent in favor of taking phones to gigs, most (52 percent) said they wanted to capture the experience to relieve it after. Almost a quarter (24 percent) likes to share the footage on social media. “13 percent said if they have bought a ticket it is their right to use their phones as they wish,” the survey suggests.

Skiddle director and co-founder Sebborn said, “The issue of banning mobile phones at gigs is one that has been hotly debated in recent months, and it’s certainly a subject which almost everyone has a strong opinion on.”

He thought the age of respondents was “particularly interesting,” as people usually associate calls for bans with the older generation. The survey showed that a significant number of younger people thought that one should enjoy live music is for the sake of the music and the show.

74 percent using phones at gigs is still a lot, and artists, concertgoers and venues point this out “on an almost weekly basis,” according to Sebborn, who added “any crackdown will result in a high proportion of unsatisfied music fans.”