A woman attending the concert became furious after noticing that the child was using a smartphone at maximum brightness throughout the entire performance.
The incident was publicized on Reddit, where user emshmem posted a photo of a boy in the row ahead looking at a brightly lit phone during a concert by parody music legend Weird Al Yankovic.
The original post's author (OP) captioned the image: "The dad who let his kid use his phone on max brightness during a Weird Al concert.".
Photo from a photo bank: The picture shows a crowd of people with their hands raised at a concert.
Reddit users overwhelmingly supported the post's author, although many pointed the finger at the boy's father.
«"So, instead of finding a nanny for a child who clearly has no interest in this concert, the father is going to let the child annoy everyone to death?" one user wrote.
«"I would have asked the ticket collector to remove the father and child if he had not intended to remove the screen or reduce its brightness.".
Another added: "$200 to let a kid play on a phone. Smart," while another simply wrote: "I would be furious.".
A familiar story
A similar controversy erupted after a passenger posted a photo of his phone's brightly lit screen during a night flight.
In this case, etiquette expert Nicole Rose, founder and CEO of Poised & Proper, said Newsweek , that etiquette is a "two-way street, especially in public places.".
She added: "It's about being mindful and adjusting our behaviour to ensure comfort for everyone.".
Modern smartphones are capable of producing hundreds of nits of brightness—enough to stand out in low-light conditions such as theaters, concert halls, and airplane cabins.
The Jam Jar's guidelines advise that audience members should dim their device screens before the concert, explaining: "A mobile phone in the dark is like a laser beam and is very distracting to those sitting in the back.".
It is also recommended to mute phones, turn off camera flash, and limit photography and video recording during the presentation.
The author of the post did not specify whether she contacted the boy's father or reported the problem to the establishment's staff, but judging by the reaction online, many felt the glowing screen was impossible to ignore.
Edition Newsweek emshmem reached out to Reddit for comment. We were unable to confirm the details of the case.
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