There are few things more rage-inducing in the cinema or theatre than when someone whips out their smartphone. When actor Orlando Bloom was in Killer Joe at Trafalgar Studios last year, he told an audience member to “Put that f****** iPad away now,” after she tried to film the play on her device.
Cinema chain Odeon is trialling a new way to encourage people to switch off their devices and focus on the big screen in front of them, with the UK’s first phoneless screenings at the Greenwich outpost.
The cinema has installed 60 charging phone lockers at Odeon Greenwich so cinema-goers can securely lock their devices away during the film throughout the month of December. The films the service is available for include Frozen 2, Jumanji: The Next Level – both out now – as well as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which is out on December 19.
Given the significance of the final Star Wars instalment, god forbid whoever tries to sneak a look at their device during one of the screenings.
Speaking about the trials, Chris Bates, commercial director at Odeon UK & Ireland, said in a statement: “Christmas is such a busy period for us all, and we deserve the chance to escape into new worlds from time to time.
"We all have too many distractions, so we’re excited to trial this new initiative at Odeon Greenwich and hope our guests take advantage of the opportunity to ‘lock up and escape to Odeon’ this Christmas.”
Ahead of implementing the trial, the cinema chain carried out a survey that found one-third of cinemagoers admit to checking their phone up to nine times during a film. In a 120-minute long film, the average length of screenings, that works out to checking your device every 13 minutes. At the moment, people are only encouraged to put their devices away, it isn't mandatory. However, if the trials go well then Odeon says it may look at specific phoneless screening options for those who don't want to be disturbed by the telltale blue glow of a phone.
Asking people to put their phones away isn’t a new trick but it’s certainly one that should be encouraged. Back in 2015, the band Mumford & Sons banned smartphones from their gigs in order to protect the new music they were playing. A radical move, this was even before the advent of things like Instagram Stories that encourage live streaming of just about anything.
Research by Google earlier this year found that 79 per cent of people in the UK want to find a better balance with their smartphone usage. Whether it is setting screentime tools or trying out a puzzle before you go for that social media app, there are many different ways to negotiate your relationship with your device and ensure you’re getting the most out of it, as well as experiencing life IRL.
