People saying, "Just put your phone away" are not living in the reality of 2020s life.

Smart phones have become a major part of life, whether you like it or not. Just because we didn't have them prior to 2007 doesn't mean that we can just pretend they never existed.

Here's a good example:

Let's say you are leaving your kids in the hotel room, and want to check on them. In the middle of the concert, you might whip out your phone, text your kid, "Are you ok?", and wait for the quick acknowledging response. Then you'd put the phone back away and enjoy the rest of the concert. This doesn't bother anyone, and should totally be allowed.

Or let's say you're waiting for an important text, perhaps one where you'd need to stop outside the concert a bit and make a phone call. You couldn't check for this text without leaving your seat repeatedly to go out of the concert just to look at the messages.

The rule is overkill.

Reminds me of when people chide me for buying the internet when I go on a cruise. People say to me, "Todd, why are you on the internet on a cruise? Why don't you get off the computer and just enjoy life?"

And I respond that I do exactly that during the cruise, such as when I'm visiting a port during the day, or involving myself in an onboard activity. But there's also downtime when I'm happy to be in my room, sitting on my balcony, and connecting to the internet on my laptop.

This phone policy would seriously take away my desire to go to a concert with such a policy, and I'm a guy who barely touches his phone while at concerts.