Festivals like Coachella need to follow The Masters and ban phones

But this isn’t a problem specific to Coachella. As long as we have our phones available to us at music events, the impulse to turn everything into content will prevail. And given that approximately 66% of the UK adult population suffer from “nomophobia” – a fear of being without their phone – trusting people to part with their devices of their own accord at events seems unlikely. This raises the question: is it time to ban phones at festivals?

While this might sound like a drastic proposal, it’s a policy some venues have already started to roll out. The Masters golf tournament has long banned cell phones on the property for patrons, with players, members and media not permitted to take their devices out onto the course. Anyone looking to place a call can use one of the courtesy, old-school landlines. It’s a move that appears to have gone down well. “I think our patrons appreciate our cell phone policy,” said Augusta National CEO Fred Ridley of the policy in 2019.

Music events are also experimenting with going phone free, proving that it is logistically possible. In 2019, Skepta’s Manchester International Festival event DYSTOPIA987 held a night that prohibited the use of phones, asking guests to store their devices in lockable ‘Yondr’ cases distributed at the event. The aim was to “enable a real time, in-the-moment experience”. Anyone caught breaking this rule by using their phone would be escorted out of the event. And, more recently, Over Yondr Festival in the Catskills, New York, used the same phone-restricted pouches to create phone-free spaces during their three-day camping event.

Alternatively, instead of prohibiting phone-use altogether, nightclubs in the UK, among them Fabric and Fold, require attendees to tape their phone cameras on entry. This is already a standard practice in Berlin’s clubs, and is becoming more common elsewhere. The filming of strangers in public without their consent is now a widespread phenomenon. So, any policy that allows people to party without the nagging fear that they might be the subject of a viral video should be welcomed.

If Coachella’s sedated crowds make anything clear, it’s that phones are killing the vibe. Self-expression has given way to self-monitoring, and it’s ultimately sucking the fun out of big music events. No phone, or no-phone camera, policies, are likely to become more widespread – but in the meantime, we’d do well to remember that not everything is content.