Night Time Industries Association chief executive Mick Gibb said it was not surprising the trend has come to Australia.
“It’s been fairly common around the world in other nightclubs for some time,” he said. “If it encourages community building it could be a good thing.”
The Burdekin Hotel on Oxford Street in Darlinghurst has considered banning phone cameras for events, but general manager Aran Tanaka Van de Ven said the policy is “not something that we would be likely to implement across the board”.
Tanaka Van de Ven said smartphones were so ingrained in people’s lives that “I don’t necessarily think they ruin the atmosphere of a venue”.
“Depending on the event or entertainment, having a large volume of people recording can make a performer feel validated as well – as if their performance is worthy of being captured,” he said.
But he said discouraging phone cameras in venues may make patrons feel safer – particularly for an event with a queer audience.
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“A ban on cameras can ensure that these people feel safe from public scrutiny, or potential backlash from their work or communities if video evidence of this aspect of their identity spreads,” he said.
Discouraging the use of phone cameras may also encourage people to go to a venue and experience it themselves rather than rely on social media, Tanaka Van de Ven said.
“In terms of alienating patrons, I believe that it may have some implications on less-abled folk, that may use social media to experience less accessible spaces vicariously,” he said.
Co-founder of popular Sydney nightlife social media channel Bondi Lines Josh, who has never given his surname publicly, said the stickers were well received, but denied there was a problem with people spending too much time on their phone while in a nightclub.
“I think most people just think it’s a bit of a gimmick,” the 27-year-old said of the stickers.
“The only time people are using their phones at nightlife events is when people are at massive events, or live music. On the average night out, there’s not a problem.”
Josh said there had been “heaps of hype” ahead of Chinese Laundry’s reopening. Bondi Lines’ live updates showed a long line to enter on Friday, while on Saturday it reported tickets to the club had been exhausted.
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