We don鈥檛 know how well comedian Chris Rock performed in Vancouver last week, but he deserves a standing ovation for requiring his audience to lock up phones and other electronic devices.
It鈥檚 a policy we heartily endorse, with the sincere hope that similar measures be imposed wherever people feel compelled to wave their glowing gizmos aloft so they can broadcast to the world their self-obsessed 鈥淚 am here鈥� messages. It鈥檚 a practice that has become endemic, and it鈥檚 rude, offensive and inconsiderate.
Rock requires all those who attend his performances to keep their smartphones and video cameras stowed. The devices are taken from the people as they enter the venue, locked in pouches and handed back to their owners. Anyone caught using a cellphone during the show is immediately ejected.
Bravo! Encore! Would that we could always have burly men in black T-shirts standing by to remove compulsive picture-takers who don鈥檛 know how to live in the moment and who ruin it for others with their insensitivity.
It鈥檚 truly wonderful that we can carry in our pockets devices that can capture and share life鈥檚 precious moments. Doting grandparents can witness a child鈥檚 first steps in real time. A magnificent sunset might last a few minutes, but its beauty can linger forever electronically. The possibilities are almost limitless.
But there should be boundaries, and a boundary is crossed when you can鈥檛 see the trees for a forest of arms holding smartphones.
