I was excited to see one of my favourite bands. Except I didn’t see them, not really

As a long-time fan, I was excited to see Coldplay perform at one of their recent Melbourne concerts. Except that I didn’t see them, not really.

For much of their roughly two and a half hour set all I could see were phones, held aloft to record the show, obscuring my view from the mosh pit. And I’m 193 centimetres tall – I’m sure many people had a worse view than me.

Coldplay has been enjoying a sold-out tour across Australia. Credit: Wolter Peeters

Even when the band implored fans to put their phones away for one song – A Sky Full of Stars – most of the audience only obliged to the halfway point. By the end of the track, thousands of phones were once again raised high.

While infuriating, it also struck me as sad. I’d waited nearly 12 months to see the show after being given a ticket for Christmas last year. Are we now so tied to our devices that we can’t put them away while one of the biggest bands in the world plays a four-minute song?

Across Taylor Swift’s three Melbourne concerts this year, fans ate through roughly 35 terabytes of data (the equivalent of 15,500 hours of video) largely due to uploading content from the concert to social media channels.

Why? For that week, posting photos or videos from the concerts was a form of currency – it let people know that you had been lucky enough to somehow secure a ticket to most coveted gig of the year.

When Harry Styles toured, it was much the same. Social media feeds were separated into those who attended and those who didn’t, while footage from gigs such as Olivia Rodrigo, Pink and Travis Scott were also shared far and wide.

Dr Luke Balcombe, a researcher at Griffith University’s School of Applied Psychology says the reason behind the rise in inconsiderate gig etiquette is the self-validation we get from social media.

“We’re doing all these kinds of behaviours on our phones, trying to get content to look cool for approval from within our social networks. Are we missing the moment? Their perception of self is constantly tied into likes.”

Phones have become an unwelcome mainstay at many concerts. Credit: Rick Clifford

At 23, I’m too young to remember a time without phones obscuring people’s views at concerts. When I spoke to my dad about this, he reminisced about seeing Cold Chisel and how, back in the day, crowds were much more immersed in the moment, and views were only ruined by someone sitting on another’s shoulders. Yes, he said there were always a few drunk or loud idiots that you’d expect at any gig, but it was extremely unlikely your view would be obstructed for the better part of the gig.

Recently, dad went along to Cold Chisel’s 50th anniversary tour, and he said phone use was still pretty subdued.

With fireworks, confetti cannons, giant bouncing spheres and intricate projections (not to mention the music), Coldplay really put on a show. But all of these visuals make for great social media content. It seems to be working against the band, with them fighting for an audience’s attention.

And unfortunately, this seems to be a battle that they and other major acts are increasingly losing.

Earlier this year, American rapper Macklemore asked fans at a Perth show to ditch their devices, saying, “I want to see your beautiful faces. I want to be here with you and live in the present moment. If I’m going to be staring at phones I’m going to be pissed off.”

Nick Cave also issued a request to fans at a show in Poland recently, saying they could film him for 30 seconds and then “put your f---ing phones away”.

Other artists, including Bob Dylan, Guns N’ Roses and Alicia Keys, have gone as far as ordering attendees to keep their phones in locked pouches.

Instead of filming large chunks of a concert, Dr Luke Balcombe says, “You’re better off just maybe taking a few snippets here and there, or taking a few photos to remember the experience.”

So, did I film a few videos at Coldplay? I’m embarrassed to admit that yes, I did. In retrospect, did I take them so that I could flex to my friends on social media? Maybe. Did I block someone’s view during that time? Almost certainly. The worst part is that I haven’t looked through the clips once since that night.

Maybe the experience of being there in person was enough, after all.

Angus Delaney is a trainee reporter at The Age.