Scottish music festival bans phones, urges fans to “live in the moment”

A Scottish music festival wants attendees to live in the moment, whether they like it or not.

Fighting 200-second concert Snapchats in a whole new way, the festival banned phones from their Boiler Room stage over the weekend, urging festival-goers to truly soak in the performance.

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FLY Open Air Festival in Edinburgh, U.K. shipped over 8,000 special cases for the two-day festival. Guests were required to store cellular devices in said cases, which unlocked after the show’s completion.

While many may cringe at the idea of a concert without Instagram, festival director Tom Ketley tells Metro that a show can’t be truly enjoyed through a screen.

“You would not go to the cinema and watch the film through your phone, so I don’t see how this is any different,” Ketley says. “Dance music is becoming more popular within youth culture, and more and more young people are getting addicted to their phones.”

While some may feel the measure is too controlling, Ketley saw it as the only solution to a growing problem.

“We felt like there was no other way [to] do this other than take quite drastic action,” he says. “If you put stickers over people’s cameras, they just take them off.”

This marks the first time a United Kingdom festival has banned phones to any extent. Ketley says the ban isn’t just for phone users but those around them as well.

“When you’re out dancing, the last thing you want is a flashlight shined in your face,” he says. “I want people to live in the moment and enjoy the music.”

Halsey recently followed suit, urging fans to keep their phones pocketed during an intimate show tonight in Minneapolis. The singer will perform “Nightmare” live for the first time and broadcast the full set on YouTube.

Could you survive an entire festival without your phone? Sound off in the comments below!

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