Everyone forgot how to act in public

At big events from concerts to movies, people are being the absolute worst. vox.com/culture CULTURE   As a New Yorker, I’m used to lousy behavior in public settings, whether it’s people playing music without headphones on the subway or tourists walking four across on the sidewalk. (Please do not do this.) As a movie critic, though, I usually don’t have to encounter bad theater behavior. I’m usually seeing movies in rooms full of critics who have no compunction about hollering for some errant audience member to turn off their damn phone. Once in a while, though, I’m in a public screening and I’m reminded why some people prefer not to go to theaters. Everyone, it seems, [is using their phones](. That’s why I was glad to see Alex Abad-Santos’s article about how everyone seems to have forgotten how to behave in public. I’m not sure I’ve ever bought the explanation that we just [forgot during the pandemic]( (seems like a lousy excuse for throwing things at singers at a concert), but I find the idea that we’ve been infected by “main character syndrome” pretty compelling. Alex’s unpacking of the phenomenon is both hopeful and, well, a little bleak. Before I tip too far over into Joker territory, though, I have to stop to remember that I see a lot of good behavior in public places, too. People holding the train door so an elderly rider can make it onto the subway. Friendly conversations between patrons at a coffeehouse. Families giving money to mutual aid organizations to help neighbors in need. I guess the best way to extract ourselves from “main character syndrome” is to remind ourselves that life on earth isn’t as much about being the star as it is being part of an ensemble cast. It’s a good reminder, even for those of us who turn off the damn phone when the movie starts. —[Alissa Wilkinson](, senior correspondent People forgot how to act in public [photo of Pink on stage]( Burak Cingi/Redferns Some people shouldn’t be out in public right now. Movie theaters have become a lawless land where some moviegoers have no reservations about using their phones after films have started. Sometimes it’s not just a glance at the time, but full-on social media scrolls and posting. I[n New York City, Broadway audiences are drunk, rowdy, and apparently leaving feces in the aisles of theaters.]( This summer at various concerts, Albanian pop star Bebe Rexha was beaned in the face, fellow pop princess Ava Max was slapped by a stage rusher, aerial-enthusiast Pink was handed someone’s mother’s ashes, fans interrupted country singer Miranda Lambert’s intimate show with an impromptu photo shoot, and a “fan” threw water on rapper Cardi B. (Cardi responded by chucking her microphone at her water-flinger.) Large-scale, in-person events are down bad. According to experts I spoke to, this rash of bad behavior can probably be traced to the pandemic shutdowns of 2020. During the lockdowns, we didn’t have large-scale social events and, no doubt, some people have sort of forgotten how to act now that they’re back. [But there’s also something deeper here, reflected in our protectiveness over these spaces and what they mean to us.]( Going to an in-person entertainment event is about more than just the movie, play, or pop star on display. These events are times when we experience important social connections, a phenomenon that happens so naturally that we don’t think about what these events mean to us — until someone really screws them up. [Read the full story »](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( What do Hollywood studios really want to get from the strike? Big Media is willing to lose money during the writers and actors strikes. Why? [Read the full story »]( “Going shopping” is dead How stores sucked the fun out of an American pastime. [Read the full story »](   Support our work We aim to explain what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters. Support our mission by making a gift today. [Give](   More good stuff to read today - [How to handle a scary diagnosis]( - [Why you should divide your life into semesters, even when you’re not in school]( - [What’s going on with these viral, right-wing country music hits?]( - [It’s not just famous actors and big-name writers the Hollywood strikes are hurting]( - [King the Land is a Netflix hit about love and labor rights](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=culture). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.