Leadership / 05.24.23

Fans Are Encouraging Others Online to Have Better Etiquette at Concerts

Access Staff

NBC News (05/18/23) Rosenblatt, Kalhan

Fans like Ginger Sherry are hoping to discourage rude behavior at concerts through social media, which in Sherry's case involved producing an instructional TikTok. “I wanted to make a video about, like, what is proper concert etiquette and like being in a mosh pit and how to be respectful,” she said. “Crowd energy is very contagious. People can get out of hand and people also act differently when they're with other people.” Some concertgoers suggested misbehavior is driven by some fans' desire to jockey with others for the best video or the closest spot in the crowd. “Going to pre-pandemic concerts, I just felt like everyone knew how to act, and concerts felt like this really safe space for people to kind of share, shared love of music with each other,” said TikToker Hannah Hawthorne. “When I went to a concert for the first time after the pandemic, it was such a stark difference ... it was like everyone didn't know how to act.” Florida Gulf Coast University Professor David Thomas said concert venues permit greater anonymity, which encourages people to indulge their worst impulses, and which is exacerbated by intoxicants and fans vying to make the best video to post on social media. Fans also believe concert etiquette affects safety, with Sherry and others referring to tragedies like the fatal 2021 Astroworld festival in emphasizing crowd mindfulness. “Safety is so important because you don't want people to die at a concert that we're just going to for fun,” Sherry said.

Read the full story from NBC News.

Tags: Leadership , Etiquette