After the “whole world” went to the movies this summer, an old debate resurfaced: Can you check your mobile phone in a movie theater?
- This summer, many on social media complained about mobile phone use in movie theaters, talking about people taking pictures, filming screens, or moving around during a movie.
- Christine Berg, Nordisk Film Kino program manager, confirms that this is a frequent problem, but says that most often they suffer because these are adults.
- The chain says they are discussing possible solutions, but don’t want to interfere too much with moviegoers’ experience. You still risk being talked out of, and eventually fired.
- The guidelines that moviegoers should keep their cell phones in sealed bags, as they do at concerts, were not up for debate.
Norwegians have it They flocked to the cinemas this summer. Half a million people watched Barbie and Oppenheimer Follow Live, with less than 400,000 viewers.
The massive interest is largely global. Barbie has already made over a billion dollars. But not everyone managed to have fun in the hall.
Over the summer, many people on social media shared their frustration with people checking their cell phones during a movie.
Some describe people taking pictures or filming the screen, while others talk about moviegoers who regularly move around during a movie.
The majority condemns this behavior, but sometimes there are those who advocate short glimpses via a mobile phone.
The adults are the worst
Kristen Berg is Program Director at Nordisk Film Kino, Norway’s largest cinema chain. She says this is a problem they constantly encounter, and that they have received more feedback about this summer.
We disagree about this, but most people find it very annoying. It’s annoying to have light around you when you want to enjoy yourself in the darkness of the cinema. I find it very annoying myself, while others could care less.
Is it permissible to use the phone in the cinema hall?
Berg says the disorders vary from symptom to symptom and type to type. However, she does not agree with the myth that mobile phone use only applies to “young people with attention impairments”. on the contrary.
– Most often this applies to adults who simply check Facebook and respond to messages. I’ve spoken to many colleagues who say the same thing.
They often have hosts in the halls at their shows, she says, who happen to have to talk to audience members who aren’t paying attention.
– Then they will be embarrassed. People themselves actually know that this is not good etiquette, so then you get caught with your pants down.
I don’t want to be “chief of police.”
It is also not always that only adults are to blame for disturbances. When there’s a horror movie on the programme, youth gangs are often the worst, Berg says.
– I remember, for example, when the horror movie “Smile” broke out here last fall, there was a lot of commotion during several screenings.
So what do they do about the problem?
– It’s a matter of how we should be police chiefs. We don’t want to spoil the experiences for them either. But if 10-15 people destroy 200 people, this is rude at best.
Although cinema staff often encourage people to put their cell phones away before a show, sometimes stronger licking is required.
– During last fall’s “Smile” phenomenon, we had Securitas guards.
– You don’t want to act like you do at certain parties, do you? You must either hand over your mobile phone, or keep it in a similar condition bag locked?
No, we didn’t discuss that. We talk about the problem, but we don’t have a concrete solution. We will continue to encourage people to keep their mobile phones in their pockets.
VG has also been in contact with cinema chain Odeon, which did not respond to inquiries.
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