Do you have problems with cell phones in theaters? I don't, partially because I go to movies with fewer people. But it's a common problem in America.
The ‘Wicked’ Practice of Taking Pictures of the Movie Screen
Why are so many people snapping photos and taking videos at the movies?
By Esther Zuckerman
The problem with cellphones in theaters used to be mostly errant ringing or excessive texting. Now it’s people holding up their devices so they can get bits of the film and post to their accounts. For those of us who just want to watch in peace, letting ourselves be completely absorbed, it’s another way in which moviegoing etiquette has crumbled in the 21st century.
But let’s back up: Why is this happening in the first place? While I don’t think I can ever fully understand the desire to participate in the trend, I have a good guess as to why it exists.
Social media has conditioned people to think that they can only claim to have had an experience if they put evidence of it online. In an age of oversharing, you have to have receipts that demonstrate you were present at an event — just embracing the fact that you witnessed it is not enough...
That’s perhaps the strangest thing about this craze. When people post photos from movie theaters they are ostensibly doing it for their online communities, but they are ignoring the communal experience they are having at that very moment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/01/movies/wicked-movie-screen-cellphone-pictures.html