#yubnub’s boomer rant

[yubnubforhire]

This might be my most boomer take yet but the culture of concert-going has become exhausting and unpleasant. It’s particularly bad with kpop concerts, but I’ve noticed that a majority of young people (gen Z) go to concerts exclusively to record it, whether for themselves or for social media, and the result is that I end up watching a sea of phone screens instead of the artist. Today, when I was at an outdoor concert on a flat field, that meant that I literally could not see the artists because of everyone else holding up their phones to record. I am not short. It’s absurd.

Also, at kpop concerts especially, I genuinely have trouble hearing the artists because the people around me are shrieking in my ears. I’m not talking about singing along. I’m talking about just toneless screaming. I get it, it’s your favorite artist(s) and you’re very excited to see them perform. But what exactly is the shrieking accomplishing? Neither you nor the people around you can hear the artist over the screams. What exactly are we doing here if not watching and listening to a performance? I didn’t pay to hear your screams.

Sorry to be all get off my lawn about this but it’s genuinely making it unpleasant to go see live music, at least music geared towards a certain demographic. Music, especially performed live, is a gift. Let’s not squander it for attention.