{"id":597449,"date":"2026-08-27T09:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T09:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/597449\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T09:30:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T09:30:21","slug":"phone-free-events-are-the-latest-analog-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/597449\/","title":{"rendered":"Phone-free events are the latest analog trend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richie Bell stood at the door of an East Village bar, nervous for a singular reason: he had to hand over his phone to a bouncer to get in. At 23 years old, Bell had hardly ever been without a device \u2014 he got his first iPhone in elementary school \u2014 but when he saw a video on TikTok advertising a queer, phone-free, funk dance party called Who\u2019s Dancing?<\/a>, he decided to test his limits. He immediately purchased a ticket and planned to attend alone.<\/p>\n

Bell was pleasantly surprised to discover he wouldn\u2019t have to relinquish his phone at all, but simply allow security to place tape on both the back and front-facing cameras. \u201cYou can\u2019t scroll Reels because, think about it, on iPhones anyway, if they\u2019re taping the front camera, that\u2019s also the speaker area,\u201d Bell told Vox. Without the temptation of content on his phone, Bell mingled with other attendees, who were similarly unoccupied and also flying solo. Even though event staff kept their eyes peeled for any errant phone usage, no one seemed to reach for them anyway.<\/p>\n

Compared to other bars and parties he\u2019s been to, Bell found this one more conducive to unbridled socializing and dancing. It\u2019s easier to approach a stranger when they\u2019re not hunched over their phone. No one is worried about looking like a fool, immortalized in video, because everyone is a little foolish, moving their bodies without fear of judgment.<\/p>\n

Across the country, clubs, bars, music venues, and other social spaces are encouraging attendees to lock their phones away \u2014 or, at least keep them out of sight \u2014 for screen-free gatherings. According to event hosting platform Eventbrite, phone-free experiences have increased more than 500 percent globally<\/a> between 2024 and 2025. Musicians Phoebe Bridgers<\/a> and Harry Styles<\/a> banned phones at their concerts; comedians John Mulaney<\/a> and Bill Burr<\/a> have followed suit. Clubs from Los Angeles<\/a> to Miami<\/a> are creating camera-free dance floors. Bars and restaurants in cities like San Francisco<\/a> and Philadelphia<\/a> that have long prohibited phone and camera use have been joined by newer establishments in Charlotte, North Carolina<\/a> and Fort Worth, Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rise of phone-free socializing speaks to a growing exhaustion with an always-connected world. More than half of US adults say they use their smartphone too much<\/a>, according to a 2022 Gallup survey. Excessive smartphone use has been linked to poor sleep quality and depression<\/a>, and even the mere presence of a phone lessens cognitive capacity<\/a>. The ubiquity of devices \u2014 and the cameras on them \u2014 has instilled a low-grade panic that you might end up going viral for eating a sandwich in the background of an influencer\u2019s video. Even Gen Z, who has always lived under the spectre of technology, is nostalgic for times before everyone was \u201cplugged in\u201d<\/a> and widely accessible.<\/p>\n

Screen-free events are the natural evolution of the cultural desire to break up with tech. By transforming physical spaces, ridding them of distracting devices, event organizers and bar owners aim to foster connection, reclaim attention, and maintain a sense of privacy. Even a short detox from smartphones has the ability to dramatically shape the tenor of a get-together for the better.<\/p>\n

\u201cExploited for content\u201d<\/p>\n

Before X&ND (pronounced \u201czand\u201d), the funk and soul artist who organized the phone-free party Bell attended, first conceived of Who\u2019s Dancing?, they noticed very few people actually cutting loose at clubs. Instead, they were on their phones. \u201cThe second that anybody starts dancing in a club where there\u2019s meant to be dancing, people pull out their phone,\u201d X&ND told Vox. \u201cThey\u2019re getting surveilled, they\u2019re getting essentially exploited for content and being put in a position where they\u2019re on display for people that they didn\u2019t necessarily want to be on display for.\u201d X&ND wanted to create a space for women, queer, and trans people to dance and express themselves without the fear of ending up on the internet.<\/p>\n

Since last summer, X&ND has hosted eight sold-out dance parties (and Bell estimates he\u2019s attended seven). Phone-free events, X&ND said, are a reclamation of culture, of attention, of self-expression. \u201cInfluencers aren\u2019t able to post anything. Different companies aren\u2019t posting anything about our parties because we don\u2019t give them the material to,\u201d they said. \u201cI think it\u2019s the culture taking the culture back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bar and nightclub scene has struggled in recent years, with many venues closing due to high rent<\/a> and fewer patrons spending money on alcohol<\/a>. But perhaps a less obvious culprit is the pervasive anxiety of being captured on video during a moment of vulnerability. Some might be turned off from entering these spaces altogether due to the high risk of embarrassment if they\u2019re captured and mocked online.<\/p>\n

In Washington, DC, 28-year-old Jo Vee had similar concerns about privacy and craved an environment where they could be anonymous. Like Bell, Vee has had access to a camera phone since they were a child and can\u2019t remember a time when they weren\u2019t thinking about what to post on Instagram. But when a friend organized a phone-free dance party, Vee jumped at the opportunity to enjoy themselves, free from the pressures of the algorithm \u2014 and the potential of accidentally becoming a meme. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing more terrifying than thinking that you\u2019re going to a party just to have fun, and then you wake up the next morning and there\u2019s a video of you that has 10 million views that you had no idea about, and now you\u2019re like a GIF reaction on the internet.\u201d (Vee clarified that they do not speak from personal experience, but said that a version of this has happened to a couple of friends.)<\/p>\n

Distraction-free connection<\/p>\n

Although many people inherently recognize the downsides of excessive phone use, they also realize they\u2019re fighting an uphill battle. Demanding jobs can tether workers to their emails and algorithms are designed to keep us engaged and scrolling. Our attention is constantly being pulled from the real world to the digital one. But even a brief respite from screens can be beneficial.<\/p>\n

In his research, Georgetown associate professor Kostadin Kushlev<\/a> found that phone usage during a social interaction undermines how much people enjoy<\/a> spending time with others. \u201cIt\u2019s not so much [that] the phone is making us feel unhappy,\u201d Kushlev told Vox, \u201cit\u2019s more like I could be happier if I was not using a phone.\u201d Put another way, people enjoy social gatherings more when they keep their phone out of sight because they can give their full attention to their conversation partner.<\/p>\n

Kushlev\u2019s other research has shown that as people curbed their phone usage over a two-week period, their ability to pay attention improved. Even a shorter detox period, like a two-hour phone-free gathering, could minimize overstimulation and encourage greater focus, Kushlev said.<\/p>\n

Inside the Charlotte, North Carolina, bar Antagonist<\/a>, couples on dates engage in heart-to-hearts and neighboring tables of strangers strike up conversations. That\u2019s because the bar has banned phones. Upon entering, visitors are asked to secure their phone in a pouch which they keep with them for the duration of their stay. If they need to use their phone, they can do so outside.<\/p>\n

Since Antagonist opened in March, owner Michael Salzarulo has observed patrons clamoring for a Friday night detox after a long week of screen-mediated work. \u201cNormally Saturday is your biggest day,\u201d Salzarulo said, \u201cbut Friday nights are our busiest nights of the week.\u201d While anyone can lock their phone in another room for a few hours, Antagonist provides an element of accountability, Salzarulo said: a dedicated space for distraction-free connection.<\/p>\n

Alex Becker was yearning for a break from her phone and her \u201cemail, Microsoft Excel job\u201d when she co-founded PA Unplugged<\/a>, a nonprofit championing policies that advocate for more mindful uses of technology, last year. One of the nonprofit\u2019s initiatives, Screen Free Philly<\/a>, maintains a calendar of screen-free events and organizes its own gatherings at breweries, parks, and other civic institutions, urging attendees to set aside their phones for discussions, art projects, and board games. At the most recent get-together, dozens of attendees handed their phones to Becker while they completed a series of puzzles throughout the city.<\/p>\n

Although these gatherings are still fairly niche, Becker sensed a hunger among participants to seek out further opportunities for tech-free connection. While ditching a smartphone completely may be unrealistic, setting it aside for date night or an afternoon of gaming might be a salve for our tech-addled brains<\/a>. We can implement these best practices at our own gatherings, too, by encouraging friends to leave their phones in a basket by the door or offering disposable cameras at parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are just done and ready to take their attention back, take their time back, and encourage more real-world connection,\u201d Becker said.<\/p>\n