Over the past decade going to a live event has nearly always been accompanied by a sea of phones capturing every moment of the experience to be shared on social media feeds. But now living in the moment is becoming the new luxury.
Partygoers in Manchester will be asked to cover their smartphone camera with a sticker in a strict rule being enforced by a new nightclub. Amber’s nightclub, which opened on Friday night, is the latest venue to enforce the no-phone rule, clamping down on the endless recording or livestreaming of nights out on mobiles.
Amber’s director Jeremy Abbott said they took the decision to open as a no-phones venue, meaning no photos, no filming and no flash, because they “really want the music and experience to be at the forefront”.
”We believe that having phones away creates a better vibe in the room and makes people feel more present in the moment. We totally understand that people may want to capture footage to remember the night, however we have an in-house content team who will take care of that,” he added.
In Berlin, notorious for its party culture, this is already standard practice. Popularised by the world-renowned Berghain in the German capital, the no-phone policy has been rolled out at a number of underground nightclubs, including London’s FOLD and fabric.
Recently clubgoers in Ibiza were also told to put away their phones and just live in the moment. Pikes in Ibiza, a hedonist’s dream set in a boutique hotel, tested the water with a stickers-on-phones policy on Monday nights in April, but by August the nightspot had extended its ban to seven nights a week. Pikes announced the change on Instagram, writing: “Keep your phones in your pocket and your mind on the music.”
“Knowing that everyone around you is doing the same … opens up a whole world of freedom, not only on the dancefloor,” the post continued.
Advocates of the ban have said it allows people to be more in the moment and talk to each other. And others have followed suit, including the 3D Nightclub in Leek, Staffordshire.
A nightclub spokesman told the Stoke Sentinel that the constant presence of phones had detracted from the “communal energy that makes a night out memorable”.
“When you’re on the dancefloor, you’re there to party with the friends beside you, not with a screen. By removing phones from the equation, 3D hopes to create a more immersive experience, where people can truly live in the moment. So, next time you hit the floor, remember: it’s time to dance, not to text,” they added.
At Amber’s, people seen filming or taking photos will be “politely asked to stop”, says Abbott. “If you are seen doing it again, you will be asked to leave the venue.”
“We want DJs to be able to express themselves and for everyone to feel like they can be part of a special experience, we think phones on the dancefloor detracts from that, that’s why we won’t be allowing them,”
Abbott said the response had been “incredible” over the launch weekend, with everyone respecting the concept, allowing it to feel “special in the moment”.
“There were a few times where I looked across the dancefloor and everyone in the room was dancing and cheering, there were no phones out and it just felt like there was this really unified energy in the space. It’s exciting to see that again on a dancefloor. We can’t wait to see the club evolve over the coming months and years with this ethos at its core,” he added.
The move towards putting down your phone has been growing in many other sectors, from schools, such as the academy chain that was the first in England to go phone-free this September, to zero tech get-togethers, such as the Offline club, which started in Amsterdam but has spread across Europe and started in London recently, where people gather to read, play games and chat, locking their phones away at the door.
This summer, organisers asked festivalgoers to stop filming at the Amsterdam’s No Art festival. At the gates of the all-day dance event at the Dutch city’s Flevopark in July, ticket-holders dropped their smartphones into envelopes, with strict instructions not to retrieve them until the end of the night.
Organisers Bora Güney and Ruud Boymans said they came up with their no-phones policy after becoming frustrated with guests recording or livestreaming their shows on their mobiles. At next year’s festival, the pair are planning to ask people to lock their phones in specially designed wallets that can only be unsealed with a magnet at the exit or the bar.
“Banning mobile phones from the dancefloor has made a tremendous difference,” said Boymans. “People are in the moment, they talk to each other, they make friends. The party is back.”
