I did a lot of partying around NYC (pre baby) where this rule is rare. There are usually close to 50% of the crowd taking selfies, putting the phone in the air to "record" the DJ, or generally scrolling through instagram instead of dancing. I thought this was the norm, but then I spent a summer in Berlin. There, people actually dance, and are there to appreciate the music. The vibe is so much more fun because everyone there is contributing to the energy by actually having a good time, instead of being preoccupied with showing people who are not with them that they are having a good time. I think nightlife in Berlin is so much better than NYC because of a combination of the cell phone rule along with the stricter door policies, and I hope those come to NYC by the time my kid gets old enough for me to be able to go out again.
Berlin does this for a completely different reason. Most of the clubs are FKK/kink/drugs zones. Having sticker on the camera stops people from taking photos of others doing the deed, making club goers more comfortable.
In berlin clubs where those things are not allowed, they generally don’t ask you to put sticker on cameras, unless they want to look cool like those places.
Its not so clear cut why its done. For sure its for privacy which has higher requirements in some spaces but nowdays majority of clubs have no photos rules. Thats trend around europe not only Berlin. Even when there are no stickers there will be no photo signs and bouncer will remind everyone about this.
> everyone there is contributing to the energy by actually having a good time, instead of being preoccupied with showing people who are not with them that they are having a good time
this screams "economists, behavioral economists, game theorists, sociologists and anthropologists" would love to study this"
people from all the above disciplines, where are you? this is your phd thesis
The glue from the stickers needed a solvent to remove from the lens after going out in Berlin and Amsterdam. Ruined my photos until I got it clean.
Generally I like the idea of people not being photo focused and if this is the fix, I’m fine with it.
But, to put Berlin on a pedestal of partying, especially compared to NYC, just screams “I have a very specific and narrow bias of what a good party is”. Let’s stop promoting a city that has formalized racist / nationalist bouncers into a “cool” thing.
These days, most clubs which are at the forefront of what's cool and interesting are doing this. If I go to a new place and I see stickers, I'm already pretty happy, because it's probably gonna be a nice time. They've taken the time and effort to think about the experience and all the little details that matter. Generic club hit places don't bother with stuff like this and it's a good proxy to separate the two.
I dropped into Fabric on a stopover in London in July (first time back on that floor in probably 15 years). I was surprised when they asked for my phone, but yeah it 100% made a difference. Would have spotted maybe 2-3 tourists taking photos at some point, but that was it. Great vibe. Mix of young and old.
Compare that to a recent bookashade gig in Sydney, which was smaller but was basically a film club event. 100 squares of light on record at any point (all with the same camera UI!) .. older crowd who probably should have known better, at least according to the article.
I've been to Fabric many times and have seen the opposite - people rip off the stickers as soon as they get indoors and then spend the whole night posting on Instagram and Snapchat. Stickers suck (not to mention the litter). The only way to have people not taking photos is to strictly enforce it and only let in the right crowd. There's places that pull this off, but they aren't as popular because TikTok ravers don't go there.
one of the most baudrillard moments of my life was seeing quite literally over 3/4 the audience at a sydney dance event filming , leaving only myself and a handful of others to dance at the back
"Divides" is a stretch here.
The BBC must report both points of view, so by default, anything they right must 'divide people'.
The 'division' in this article comes from:
>Some posted on Instagram concerns that clubs could suffer as social media videos of their night act as free adverts
Doesn't really paint the picture of this nightclub having its fanbase split in half arguing about whether it's good or bad....
I hate that this is the case. It’s been incredibly frustrating over the years seeing perfectly normal and universally accepted things be reported about, but they have to find the absolute dregs of society with whacky and extremely stupid ideas simply so they can say they “are impartial”.
It’s been everything from Brexit to Covid and everything in between.
I'll post this at the top level since there's 5+ comments about it:
The glue on these stickers is like a strong post-it note. The sticker stays on the lens fairly reliably, but leaves no residue at all when you take it off.
I attend a few parties that preach/practice this. Along with it being everyones responsibility to enforce a no cellphones policy on the dance floor. It provides for a much better experience on the dance floor. Just be yourself ;) Live in the NOW. I think some guy named Danny Tenaglia mentioned that once. The curators of these events have also built wall of sounds around the world(life changing BTW) and care about the music.
Education about a proper CLUB/PARTY night goes a long ways.
Some clubs in Berlin (Germany) already do this for quite some time and the people there are all fine with it.
The vibe is just different, because the people focus more on each other or themself instead of generating content for some online profiles.
The cultural and legal expectations around photographing people are very different in Germany than in most English-speaking countries, and especially the USA. In Germany, taking photos of people without permission is socially unacceptable, and sharing such photos is usually illegal.
In the USA, photographing people from somewhere the photographer has the right to be is protected as freedom of speech with few exceptions, and is less likely to be seen as rude. Of course a business can still impose its own rules of conduct inside.
Various clubs and parties in the NYC scene, too, going back well over a decade. I'm genuinely surprised to read there is some (perhaps exaggerated) controversy over this in the news. The places that have strict no photo / no video policies like this pretty explicitly _don't want_ a patron who became interested in attending primarily because they saw a video of the dance floor on Instagram, they cater to scenes and communities where word of mouth and reputation are more than enough to fill the room.
I don't recall getting stickers at any clubs NYC, although it's been a few years since I lived there. It was always on the honor system at places like Output and events like Black Market.
Readit News
In berlin clubs where those things are not allowed, they generally don’t ask you to put sticker on cameras, unless they want to look cool like those places.
Imho it helps multiple issues.
this screams "economists, behavioral economists, game theorists, sociologists and anthropologists" would love to study this"
people from all the above disciplines, where are you? this is your phd thesis
Deleted Comment
Generally I like the idea of people not being photo focused and if this is the fix, I’m fine with it.
But, to put Berlin on a pedestal of partying, especially compared to NYC, just screams “I have a very specific and narrow bias of what a good party is”. Let’s stop promoting a city that has formalized racist / nationalist bouncers into a “cool” thing.
Deleted Comment
Compare that to a recent bookashade gig in Sydney, which was smaller but was basically a film club event. 100 squares of light on record at any point (all with the same camera UI!) .. older crowd who probably should have known better, at least according to the article.
The 'division' in this article comes from: >Some posted on Instagram concerns that clubs could suffer as social media videos of their night act as free adverts
Doesn't really paint the picture of this nightclub having its fanbase split in half arguing about whether it's good or bad....
It’s been everything from Brexit to Covid and everything in between.
[0] https://youtu.be/YKZN-hBTBUE
Dead Comment
The glue on these stickers is like a strong post-it note. The sticker stays on the lens fairly reliably, but leaves no residue at all when you take it off.
Education about a proper CLUB/PARTY night goes a long ways.
In the USA, photographing people from somewhere the photographer has the right to be is protected as freedom of speech with few exceptions, and is less likely to be seen as rude. Of course a business can still impose its own rules of conduct inside.
In those clubs it's more necessary to prevent photos obviously, and that habit makes it more acceptable in regular clubs.
I don't see anything but phones in the air. I have attended some parties and concerts with stickers and they have insanely better vibes.