Picture this: You’re at a concert, a school football game or a theater rehearsal. You’re with your friends, and you’re excited to be there.
Then someone takes out a phone — to take a video or check a text or look up something online. The next thing you know, that person is no longer paying attention to the conversation or what is happening. Maybe that someone is you.
Have you ever experienced that?
How do you think things would be different if no one had access to phones in that space? Would you feel more present? Less self-conscious? More connected to the people around you? Or would you just be wishing you could have your phone back?
In “‘Everyone’s in Sync’: Phone Ban on NYC Dance Floors Is Getting Rave Reviews,” Alexandra E. Petri reports on dance clubs that are going phone-free. She begins with one club in Brooklyn that introduced a phone ban during the residency of a D.J. named Eli Escobar:
In recent years, staff members at House of Yes, in Bushwick, noticed that its dance floor was filled with people taking selfies or recording instead of dancing, said Sophie Winter, the marketing manager.
So in May, the venue decided to test out a major change: It made the dance floor a phone-free zone during Mr. Escobar’s monthly residency.
“It felt like how parties used to feel,” Ms. Winter, 29, said of that evening. “Everyone was in the moment, everyone was enjoying themselves.” It went so well, the policy has remained in place.
Social media can encourage users to chase trendy spots and post about them, rather than enjoy the music and the experience. One quick picture can lead to getting lost in your notifications, and that can kill the vibe for others in the crowd, club owners and patrons say.
People have posted videos lamenting the static crowds around them at clubs, or showing people with their arms erect or their elbows in others’ faces as they vie to document the beat drop. It becomes harder for some people to shed their inhibitions, especially when one person’s moves can become the latest meme. Some musicians and D.J.s also say it’s challenging to respond to a crowd’s energy as they face a sea of screens.
The article continues, describing young people’s reactions to such bans in clubs:
The movement has grown as people seek an escape from phones — even members of Gen Z who have a reputation for being chronically online.
“It’s healthy, especially for my age group,” Quintazia Roberts, 25, said last month at Refuge, where she was attending her first phone-free party. Later, she said she was struck by how “everyone’s in sync.”
Becky Wang, 27, said she used to document everything, including her favorite D.J. sets. “I realized I was not enjoying the music and spending time in the moment,” she said.
There’s research to support that: One study examining the secret sauce behind Berlin’s nightlife culture found that banning smartphones and cameras can help foster meaningful shared experiences.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
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What’s your reaction to phone bans on the dance floor at some clubs? Are you surprised that young people seem to welcome the restrictions?
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Are there other places you wish were phone-free? If so, what is one space you spend time in where you wish phones weren’t allowed? How do you think your experience there would be different if people weren’t taking pictures, texting or checking their notifications?
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The clubgoers in the article describe enjoying experiences when phones weren’t present and “everyone was in the moment”? Have you ever experienced something like that? If so, what was that like? How did it feel?
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Some in the article describe the push and pull of wanting to use their phones to chronicle an experience but knowing that doing so takes them out of the moment. Do you ever have that feeling? Is it important for you to capture memories, or would you rather stay in the moment?
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Do you think phone-free spaces should become more popular? What would be the positives and the negatives of such spaces? Does the good outweigh the bad? Why or why not?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
Natalie Proulx is an editor at The Learning Network, a Times free teaching resource.
The post Should Some Places Be ‘Phone-Free’? appeared first on New York Times.
