Suddenly Everyone Is Scared to Dance at Concerts and Clubs(www.wsj.com)
22 pointsby OGEnthusiast10 hours ago10 comments
  • atmavatar8 hours ago
    We can dance if we want to.

    We can leave your friends behind.

    Because your friends don't dance, and if they don't dance,

    well, they're no friends of mine.

  • rubatuga9 hours ago
    Hmmm wonder if it's due to sudden influx of ketamine on the dance floor ... warning for those who don't know, ketamine is also linked with bladder wall destruction.

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/dec/30/surge-in-ket...

  • nis0s6 hours ago
    I wonder if some places might benefit from asking patrons to stow their cameras away in lockers, some museums do that so it’s not out of the norm.
  • 9 hours ago
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  • maxcan7 hours ago
    This feels like a complete BS story. Been to a bunch of festivals and concerts in the last few years and while cell phones have kind of ruined it, its because people are so caught up in filming terrible video clips of the stage they'll never watch instead of being present in the moment.
  • on_the_train9 hours ago
    My family is a family of dancers. My parents love it. My older sister danced and even taught dancing. So I was always under intense observation when it comes to that. And every hint of it was immediately commented on. Every movement to music, too. I hated it. And completely blocked all of dancing from my life. Didn't dance on graduation, not on weddings. That's just a direct and human consequence.
  • 01HNNWZ0MV43FF10 hours ago
    Can't read but it's not sudden for me. I don't dance. I feel separate from most of humanity on this issue.
    • OGEnthusiast10 hours ago
      Can't find a non-paywalled link at the moment but the gist is it's because of phones and the fear of going viral on social media. Some concerts and clubs are now starting to institute phone bans at the door to create a more friendly atmosphere.
      • collingreen8 hours ago
        I think the chilling effect of phones is already stark in this way and we haven't hit peak bodycam-style always-on wearables every generation of tech leaders tries. When glassholes are actually here to stay this will be even worse (or maybe it will be so inevitable people won't care anymore?).
      • Der_Einzige9 hours ago
        Re: no paywalled link

        Good. I was tired of us acting like we could ignore the blatant act of information being prevented from its freedom by being some caste of monks who knew about the magic words to use the internet archive to avoid it.

    • phpnode9 hours ago
      It’s new year, let yourself have a dance somewhere private where you can’t be judged. You might change your mind
  • globular-toast7 hours ago
    I can't read the article, but the dude in the video is in a brightly lit room with cameras pointing at him. When I went clubbing it was so dark you couldn't even really see anyone. You could be anonymous if you wanted to be. It was always about letting people who aren't performers let go and feel the music.
  • 9rx9 hours ago
    In the olden days alcohol was a prerequisite to get (most) people dancing. Nowadays drinking has declined substantially, especially amongst the younger crowd who are most likely to frequent concerts and clubs.

    Does the article factor that in? It won't load for me, unfortunately.

    • MentatOnMelange8 hours ago
      I think drinking is declining for the same reason as dancing... any situation involving relaxing in a social way has gone from "what do the people around me think of me?" to "how could someone make what I'm doing look stupid to get upvotes/likes on social media?"

      edit: It deserves mentioning the level of drinking involved in socializing was never a good thing and I think everyone is more aware of the dangers now.

    • andy999 hours ago
      Or maybe everyone feeling like they are being watched all the time (while simultaneously staring at their phones) is part of why people are drinking less? It’s a vicious cycle.
      • djmips8 hours ago
        and potentially recorded?
    • OGEnthusiast8 hours ago
      The hypothesis in the article is it's smartphones and people afraid of their dancing going viral on social media.

      But it's interesting that you brought up declining drinking rates. I'm sure that's just as large a factor as well.

    • badc0ffee9 hours ago
      The article does not mention alcohol.