enjoying a live concert through your iphone

a musing on early 2000s tech and nostalgia

I went to an indie concert in a small music hall in my city last week and I saw something I haven’t seen since I was a teen– a compact digital camera.

Maybe if you live in an influencer-friendly or dense city you’re used to seeing vloggers mounting their recording devices everywhere. This wasn’t one of those cameras. This was a simple low-megapixel point-and-shoot camera that I used to take amateur photos with back in the 2000s. It’s what people used to capture moments before phones had DSLR-type qualities and social media platforms incentivized sharing reality TV-type content of our personal lives.

I saw a device that captured a moment for private enjoyment.

Now, this person could be an influencer for all I know and this part of some new episode, but from my view from the back of the concert hall where I was standing, I only saw her bring out her camera twice. She captured something and enjoyed the rest of the concert, one of the few members of the audience to gently scream pleasantries to encourage the artist. While iPhones captured endless concert content around her, she connected with what was right in front of her.

Enjoying a live concert through a stranger’s phone

I was so intrigued by this moment that I used my 5 photo rule to capture this photo and quickly made a note to myself to reflect on this later (which is what you’re reading right now).

My friend and I attended this concert to celebrate a big friendship anniversary. When we were freshmen in college, we went to this artist’s concert together amazed by the fact that we had the same taste in indie music. Looking back on these concert photos as I write this, I marvel at how much not only my friend and I have changed, but how much the artist has evolved since our first time seeing him so long ago.

Ever since I read Toni Morrison’s essay “Literature and Public Life,” I’ve been making intentional moves to be present with myself and others (in real life). If you haven’t read this essay yet, I encourage you to because it has completely changed my relationship with the internet. You can listen to me awkwardly read it here:

I no longer check my phone first thing after waking up. I am conscious of which notifications I allow on my phone. I’ve been reading more physical books and when on the go my airplane mode Kindle (iykyk).

So last week when I stepped into my first concert since making this intention, I was conscious about my cell phone use. I told myself I would only snap 5 photos and grab one video for my personal archive. No more clutter. Less distractions.

All of this is to say being intentional about my cellphone use made me so present at the concert that I was able to notice this basic point-and-shoot camera in a sea of iPhones. Whether or not we are truly present at a live concert or if we’re watching it through our recording iPhones has been a common op-ed rant for the past year.

This person in the Guardian said

“Call me a fuddy-duddy if you like, but I shall never accept the use of phones during a performance in a concert hall or theatre. As for those people who can’t be parted from their screens until the conductor raises his baton, they truly set my teeth on edge.”

According to the Washington Post, Adele once criticized a fan using her cellphone to record her concert saying “I’m really here in real life.” Perhaps this is a word for someone–what you’re looking for is right in front of you, you just have to perceive it.

Carrying around point-and-shoot digital cameras is a Gen Z trend. I was curious why and then I saw that Fast Company reported that carrying a point-and-shoot camera “ allows Gen Zers to live more in the moment.” Gen Z is the first generation to live almost fully in this current digital age. And it seems they’re having a bit of nostalgia. They’re yearning for a time they never knew or were too young to experience.

Technology is meant to simplify our lives, and I think everyone must decide what simple means for them. Perhaps, “simplicity” for you doesn't mean ease of use, but less use overall. These days we all feel the pressure to post on social media at this time or this frequency. We’ve been subtly molded to believe that we need to have these many followers or metrics to feel significant or make a side hustle or for some, a living.

Certain forms of technology and platforms demand so much from us that when I see someone refuse that demand, I awaken from the matrix we’re all in. The increased use of 20-year-old cameras reminds us that what worked before can work again or even better or for a different use. “New” doesn’t automatically mean “better for you.” I am not a Luddite. I am more so just conscientious of what – tech or otherwise– is molding my behavior and decision-making patterns.

As always this is just a thought and I am curious to hear yours too. Wishing you a restful and intentional weekend ahead.

with care,

shae 📖