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Should mobiles be banned in bars?
Two top bar owners take up the debate: in the age of social media, should there be a ban on mobile phones in bars?
A great way to preserve precious memories on a night out, or a barrier to natural conversation?
Whether you love or loathe it, the digital age is well and truly upon us. A constant stream of new apps and platforms interconnects work, home and play in a seamless social sphere, and it almost feels mandatory to share your life online – through a filtered picture and carefully worded caption, of course.
This technology bubble has cemented ‘experience’ as a status symbol, to the point where it is almost viewed as a missed opportunity to enjoy a social activity without documenting it in some way – often to the annoyance of fellow bar-dwellers.
Click through the following pages to see what two top bar owners make of mobile phone use in their establishments.
Rosie Stimpson, co-founder of Speakeasy Entertainment (Nightjar and Oriole)
‘How people choose to enjoy themselves is their call. We’re not here to police fun’
I have heard the lament about the overuse of phones in public places repeatedly in recent times; in the street, in print, and on the radio. It’s a subject that we’re all churning over while simultaneously trying to get to grips with the new technology.
However when a customer once suggested that we ban the use of phones at Nightjar because they demystified the experience of a Prohibition bar, my response was clear: while we provide all the essentials for a good night out, how people choose to have fun is their call. We encourage polite behaviour and discretion for customers and staff, but beyond those common courtesies we’re not here to police fun.
The fact that many people choose to whip out their phones is a by-product of this approach, and is undeniably of great benefit to Speakeasy Entertainment as a business. What is more interesting, however, is why people are moved to do so at all, and what bars can do to engage at this level. What is it that drives people to document, edit and share their experiences?
This idea of experience as status symbol has been brewing for as long as Nightjar has been around. I believe its our focus on the theatre of the night out that make our venues good material for sharing online: hidden, surprising spaces, well-designed, old-school, friendly hospitality, live music and highly sensorial drinks.
Part of the love affair with cocktails is the theatre and artistry of a bartender making drinks. At Nightjar, customers are rarely at the bar, so a great deal of thought is put into the drama of the serve. The senses are intimately linked to emotions and our aim is to connect with our guests on an emotional level and delight them; a rare enough feeling that people are compelled to share. Social media provides a tool for them to share in an instant.
This is great news for a bar in a competitive market like London, which relies on new and repeat custom and spreading word-of-mouth as far and wide as possible. More importantly though, every time someone posts their excitement on our social media channels, I know we’re getting things right.
Steve Tyler, owner, The Gin Tub, Brighton
It’s time people started talking to each other – we are losing social skills’
At the Gin Tub, we have installed a Faraday cage to prevent mobile phones from working, by blocking the signal. It’s time people started talking to each other. Everyone knows you can walk 15ft and use your phone outside; just not here. We’ve almost made it rude to use your phone inside.
The response has been massively good. We open at 4.30pm and we are busy all night long. The nice thing is, everyone knows not to use their phones, and they don’t, and they enjoy it. People come in and actually talk to people on other tables as opposed to sitting and scrolling through Facebook or Instagram. It’s a great way to meet new people face-to-face as opposed to using dating apps such as Tinder.
We’ve even taken the Facebook page down. The best advertising is word-of-mouth, people telling their friends about our bar. If you’re good at what you do, everyone will know it.
Social interaction in bars and pubs is far more important. Pubs are dying, and it’s down to social media, the free wi-fi and the lack of community.
We want to create a community within our bar, we want people to get up and have conversations with each other. You don’t need to use your phone until the end of the night, when you need to ring a taxi, or in case of an emergency. People can share their social media posts or photos they’ve taken once they leave the bar, just not during.
The atmosphere in the bar has been amazing, it’s noisy because everyone is talking rather than being on their phones. We are actually losing our social skills because of social media, and it creates a world where people don’t know how to talk to each other. Initially we attracted the older demographic, and considered making the bar for over-25s only, but we found that people in their early 20s want to come in and enjoy the interaction because they’ve grown up in a world of technology.
I want people to interact in the real world remember how to socialise, and, more importantly, show them how to enjoy the experience of going out.