Globe readers: What do you think is wrong with audiences these days?
Seeing live performance can be one of the greatest joys around for arts lovers. Being surrounded by like-minded people as you all take in a live show is a joyful communal experience without compare.
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But ever since we came out of quarantine and started seeing live shows again, things have been…different. Sure, crowds have always included a few folks who have overindulged and gotten rowdy, and we all have different personal rules for just how noisy an audience should be. The rise of smartphones and social media, though, have created incentives for disruptive behavior: filming provocative actions for followers, having a phone out for an entire concert in order to capture the exact right clip, yelling at Broadway actors mid-performance just because you know them from TV.
The behavior isn’t just limited to what people want to post online. Lately, people seem to think that whatever they might want to do to enjoy a show is the only thing that matters, up to and including soiling themselves to retain a front row spot at a Noah Kahan concert.
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Something is changing in audience behavior, post-COVID. In an upcoming series, the Globe Living/Arts team will delve into just how those changes have manifested. But we want to hear from you, our readers. How have you seen audience behavior change since 2020? Your answer could be included in our upcoming feature.
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