If you follow me on Twitter or know me personally, you know I have an obsession for anything musical. I also have a passion for social media. I was attending a student performance of "The Last Five Years" last week and, as usual, during the director's speech, he asked everyone to turn off their phones. I followed suit, of course, but I know many people probably didn't.With the advent of Twitter, a trend of live "tweeting" events was born. While I readily partake, especially during American Idol, I can't help but think that there are some times when you should just let your fingers rest and enjoy the art that is in front of you.
As a performer, I know how annoying, distracting, and disrespectful it is when people are texting or taking pictures while you are onstage. People may try to tell you that when you are on stage you can only see the first five rows, but I can tell you from personal experience that you can see way past that. Why come to the theater and potentially pay money when you could just sit at home doing the same thing?
My feeling on this is that it just is not the time or place to be linked to social media while at a play or concert or dance performance. The Arts provide an escape from reality, one much appreciated in such a fast-paced, on-the-go society.
1 comment:
Although whenever I have been in front of an audience, I literally cannot see them because my eyesight is so poor, I completely agree! As an audience member, if you focus your attention on a cell phone or something similar, you are taking yourself out of the moment and, in turn, altering the entire experience.
I love how people can share ideas and see other opinions about things they've watched through social media, but I believe that it can definitely wait until AFTER the show!
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