Just when you thought modern society couldn’t get any more self-involved or obnoxious, the selfie stick came barreling out of the womb of the 21st Century to remind everyone that consumers will spend money on anything that streamlines our unending pursuit of more attention.
What started as an obscure item that most simply dismissed as a joke has since become a bonafide pop culture flashpoint, with numerous op-eds ruminating on what the selfie stick means and why they’re good, bad, or totally irrelevant. All the while, it was countdown till when we saw them pop up at concerts.
That time has well and truly arrived and now a number of major music venues in the UK are looking to nip this in the bud (having more or less dropped the ball with the first wave of concert selfie technology back in the early-to-mid 2000s) and prevent punters from being smacked in the head by someone’s stocking stuffer.
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As Gigwise reports, the London O2, SSE Wembley Arena, and the O2 Academy Brixton all announced last week that they were banning the use of selfie sticks at their facilities. The popularity of the item reportedly rose significantly over the Christmas period when many punters were given the sticks as gifts.
A spokesman for the O2 Arena warned concert attendees to leave the metallic sticks at home where they don’t pose the risk of blinding or impaling a fellow punter. “The O2 do not allow selfie sticks into the arena due to safety considerations. We welcome selfies, but please leave the stick at home,” the spokesman told NME.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Wembley SSE Arena admitted that selfies are “a big part of the gig experience”, but asserted that selfie sticks weren’t. “The sticks might mean you are refused entry to the venue so our advice is don’t bring them and stick with the tried and tested use of an arm,” they said.
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And it’s not just music venues who are forming this anti-stick coalition, with Gigwise reporting that venues representing teams in the English Premier League — Tottenham Hotspurs’ White Hart Lane and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium — will also impose a ban on the controversial cudgels.
Anyone who’s been to a gig in the last few months will likely greet the news with enthusiasm, particularly if they’ve been the victim of an inadvertent selfie stick bashing. Hopefully Australian venues will swiftly adopt the UK’s example and rid their venues of the perilous selfie stick.
It looks like we may already be on our way, with the Courier Mail reporting that the Australian Open has just become the first Grand Slam tennis tournament to ban the item from courtside in case they prove a distraction to players. That’s a good start, if you ask us.
