Phoneless Clubs: Is Phone-Time Ruining our Fun- Time?

From providing us with instant access to communication, to being a trusty digital companion archiving the best moments of our lives, mobile phones have become a thing of wonder which we seemingly cannot live without. But does phone-time ruin our fun-time, and could there be a future where we spend whole nights out without them?

Waking up to a slew of drunken snaps on your story is a feeling many of us have experienced. Whether it’s you, singing your heart out to the cheesiest pop hits, or just documenting your drunken antics more generally, it can be mortifyingly embarrassing. As you rush to delete it, you realise that hundreds of people have seen it already – don’t worry, I know the feeling all too well. Phones can be a menace on a night out: the random photobombers in the back of your pictures, a list of random people added on social media, the brutal bank-destroying reality of Apple Pay and contactless payments. How can this one small device be a source of so much havoc sometimes?

Although the concept may be hard to imagine in our Gen-Z technology-dependent societies, phoneless clubs can be, and are, a pretty successful invention. London nightclub fabric recently announced a no-photo and no-video policy, following FOLD nightclub doing the same in 2018. And the concept isn’t new. Clubs in Germany took the lead on the trend, with one of the first clubs to ban phones being Berghain in Berlin, which opened in 2006. A lot of clubs in Germany implemented this policy to downplay the scandalous parties taking place behind closed doors – the risk of a respectable figure losing their dignity and reputation after a wild night was solved by banning phones altogether. Eradicating the possibility of any photographic evidence, whilst adding to the mystery and intrigue of these exclusive clubs, seemed like a pretty smart sales strategy.

The reasoning behind phoneless events has taken on a whole new meaning this year, however. Living in the moment, especially after being in lockdown for eighteen months straight, has taken on a whole new appeal. We all know the temptation to document your night out in a club with drunken videos and photos, or to record your favourite songs at a gig in sheer excitement that you’re finally hearing them live. But realistically, if you’re living a moment through a phone screen, are you really living it at all?

The ‘phoneless’ concept has also been trialled in the live music and comedy events’ industries. Tech company Yondr puts every audience member’s phone under lock and key, with A-listers such as Dave Chappelle, Jack White and Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) taking advantage of this by encouraging the crowd to be ‘present’ with them. It’s not unusual to hear artists begging for the sea of phones shining in their faces to be put away, either. In fact, it’s something I’ve heard myself at gigs, namely from Matty Healy, frontman of The 1975, who pleaded with concert-goers to ‘’live in the moment’’.

But what are some of the genuine benefits of phoneless events and club nights? After speaking with my friends, and reflecting on my own experiences, I’ve compiled a few collective issues which can be attributed to our phones. The first, and perhaps most problematic, has to be drunk texting. An embarrassing text to someone on your recent messages, or worse, someone you shouldn’t be messaging at all, is much too easy when you’re carried away in the moment and under the influence of alcohol. What’s arguably even worse is the unavoidable regret when you realise what you’ve done the next day. Let’s not forget about the dreadful photos and videos of you that people will have stored on their phones, either. Let’s be honest, you almost definitely don’t look your best – just a hot, sweaty mess - so it’s a sobering reality knowing that these moments are immortalised on someone’s camera roll, forevermore. Alongside avoiding the ridiculously long Snapchat stories I mentioned earlier, these are the reasons why my peers and I would, in an ideal world, perhaps like our phones confiscated from us on the occasional night out. If not just for our sakes, for the good of everyone else online forced to witness our antics.

Having your phone taken away from you at an event, but still having access to it when you leave, could be the best solution to this, therefore. Going out without a phone in this day and age can simply be unsafe and impractical. We live in a world of Uber, cashless bars and, sadly, a pretty dangerous society, especially for women. Not having a phone to hand when out and about at night could cause real complications, especially if you found yourself in a vulnerable position.

Aside from this, attending an event without access to your phone does ruin the fun just a bit, in my opinion. These are meant to be the best years of our lives, and I, for one, would love to look back on them in time to come. Whilst I appreciate that being on your phone the whole night can disconnect you from living in the present moment, using your device in moderation definitely has its benefits. It would be extremely hard to rid our brains of the compulsion to photograph certain moments and share them. Perhaps, most simply, because of the nature of today’s society: photo sharing apps such as Instagram and Snapchat have normalised the construction of online personas who present their followers with a ‘highlight reel’ of their lives.

I would love nothing more than to live in the moment on a night out, dancing with my friends and snapping just a few well-lit, perfectly posed pictures to document the event. But we live in precarious times, and safety, especially in a big city such as Nottingham, should be our main concern. Unfortunately, therefore, having a phone is an absolute necessity. So, keep a phone with you for safety, but resist the urge to use it every few minutes. In my humble opinion, I think this balance provides the perfect formula for a really great night out.

By Amrit Virdi

Photography by Alessio Lala Page Design by Chiara Crompton