Spare the (selfie) stick, spoil the experience?

As anyone who's been to India's (or indeed, the world's) biggest music festivals in the last couple of years will tell you, clicking away at concerts and music festivals has become a thing. Even more recently, the selfie stick has gained in popularity, rearing its head over and above the shoulders of fellow festival-goers.

But then again, concerts and music festivals are the last bastions to be conquered by this arm-extension that's taking over the world. The average well-travelled tourist never leaves the hotel room without it. The out-and-about adventurer sees it as a means to sharing sights you'd otherwise have no access to. As a monopod that's more handy and less trouble than its three-legged cousin (and mostly available with a Bluetooth remote), the use of selfie sticks as means to an end is less likely to abate than to be banned. Early this year, CNBC called it "the new Beatles". ANd that's saying something about its popularity.

Right now, several places across the world ban the device. But big, respected music festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella outright banning selfie sticks, is relevant and raises pertinent questions. Is narcissism the only vice they want to wipe out? Or are there other demons they'd rather do without? The pros and cons come equally weighed and there are equal reasons to both love and loathe them. As devices go, they're effective and efficient. They get the job done and for someone with shaky hands, like mine, it should even be a godsend. But critics will tell you they're obstrusive, a distraction and really, not a very nice thing to own.

But as a plain observer, I can vouch for it being an eyesore, when a performer takes a stage. While some performers have taken to it wholeheartedly, even offering to click the pictures, others just couldn't care and avoid it completely. As an audience member, it's distracting enough when pouring pretties preen for the best wide-angle shots they can muster, now we have to suffer grown men indulge in it, too. Selfie-taking, as anyone will tell you, is here to stay, but there are some places they just shouldn't be allowed. But that's us, we spoke to a couple of people who visit festivals regularly and to some who organise them for their take on the ban and whether it's something that should or could work here...

DEATH OF THE EXPERIENCE
A counter question comes my way from Nikhil Chinappa, Festival Director Vh1 Supersonic: "Why do you think they've done it?" he asks, following it up with another question, "Can you imagine if they had selfie sticks at Woodstock?" Any purist reading this, will understand the sentiment behind the question. Nikhil feels that if you're a casual music listener who borrows music or whose priorities lie in showing off to one's Facebook friends, selfie sticks become more important. That won't be the case, if you're passionate about music.
Like Nikhil, curators of festivals go through a lot of trouble to get artists down, they put a lot of thought into it -- into the decor, the artistes, the programming of the artistes, the visuals, the lights and everything. He was one of the early names behind musical festivals in India and it was the urge to foster a sense of community, he says, that pulled him in this direction. The feeling of oneness and shared connections, he feels, is lost because of selfie-taking and thereby selfie sticks. "It goes against the grain of what we're trying to do at a music festival. It's not a photo moment, it's an experience moment." While he agrees that selfie-taking is a valid reason to look back, 30 years on and get nostalgic about past festivals, he feels simply holding phone at arm's length is enough and that what a stick does is simply stabilise the picture. He agrees with the line of thought that says it's a bit narcissistic but "it makes it seem a bit more selfish and youre losing out on that community, almost analog feel of the festival, so that's the main reason why i think that's a good idea to ban it. But I don't know whether we're ready to do that here", he says.
He has some sound advice for memory-seekers: Put that selfie stick away. Go for the experience, just breathe it in and if that photograph is really that important, take a couple of pictures with your friends... and there are loads of pictures online. festivals use professional photographers and they share pictures and there's always Twitter.
And he also does voice concern that the sticks can be used a weapn if someone gets annoyed and angry.

THE SELFIE GENERATION
Shoven Shah, Founder - EVC and Director- Twisted Entertainment has a similar view, but leans towards the pros rather than the cons. "Most concerts do have a 'no photography' policy already in place, so it (the ban) comes as no big surprise. Selfie stick bans make for great headlines, but it's also imperative to take into account whether the content being shot is historic and prohibitive in nature like an art museum. Music festivals are a great platform for creating great memories. We wants festival goers to create amazing memories and sometimes an extended stick can capture a group photo more efficiently than just the tried and tested methods of the hand. Selfies is part of the overall festival experience. On the flip side gig-goers using the tool may block the view of others at the show and sometimes inadvertently hurt others since everyone is in a revelry mood. ?Most importantly, artistes sometimes find it to be a distraction just like mobile phones. Addressing the security concerns, we do not view Selfie Sticks as a security hazard but an extended form of technologically enabled entertainment. Aren't we all the Selfie Generation?," he asks.
Almost on cue, you can just picture the historic selfies taken over the last few years that 'stole the internet'. And since we're talking music, who can forget the picture Brian May of Queen took in February this year at a concert, using a selfie stick. Don't believe me? See the pic alongside and see if this would've been possible otherwise.

CAN'T BAN FUN
"It's not an issue", says Karan Singh, CEO Sunburn, adding, "It's not something we've discussed. But one has to respect that it's part of this generation's pop culture and so, I don't see a ban of selfie sticks happening at our festivals." It's a thought echoed by Arjun S Ravi, co-founder NH7, the company behind the popular Weekender festivals. Says Arjun, "We're not the kind of festival that imposes any kind of restrictions, selfie-related or otherwise, on fans."
Business development executive with a city firm Bianca Dyan, who attends EDM festivals and concerts in Mumbai as often as she can, is quite vocal about her love for selfie sticks. "Selfie sticks are awesome", she exclaims, "They're convenient, get the job done and help you take great, non-blurry pics. Why any festival should think of banning them, is beyond me. The wide angle they enable help all our friends to be in the same picture. What's not to love about it?"
Band manager of Chennai-based band, Junkyard Groove, Akshata Shetty, who's also a compulsive festival-attendee feels it's an individual's choice. As someone who clicks concert and festival pictures on her DSLR, she knows the importance of the moment and feels a big deal is being made of the whole matter. "It's really stupid to ban it at music festivals. There are so many other things to ban... ban people from littering, from leching, from chattering and creating a ruckus when an artiste is perfoming. You're there to have fun. Festival can't and shouldn't ban fun.

STICKING WITH IT: Clicked in Berlin during a concert, this pic went viral. But it wasn't the first time, Brian May of iconic band Queen did it. A month earlier, he used the stick in Leeds, UK.

OTHER CELEBS WHO'VE USED SELFIE STICKS
The One Direction boys. At red carpets, when hanging with the screaming fans
Katy Perry. At most gigs.
Kevin Hart, at an awards show this year
Maria Sharapova, when she clicked a selfie with 360 ball boys
President Barack Obama, when promoting a healthcare.gov video

WHERE ELSE ARE THE STICKS ARE BANNED
London's National Gallery
The Smithsonian Institution, USA
The O2, UK
The Wembley Arena, UK
The Palace Museum, Beijing
All of South Korea
Mecca, Saudi Arbaia
The State of New York, USA
Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

DOs AND DON'Ts
- Use the stick when capturing an outdoor moment at a special place or with special people
- For panoramic shots with you in it.
- For not getting all up in twists when you're trying to take a pic of your back
- For taking pictures at family parties so everyone's in the frame
- For god's sake, don't swing it around. And if you absolutely have to, look before you do.
- It's not a weapon. Repeat. It's not a weapon. No matter how irritating the person next to you is. Don't use it to attack him.
- Unless you're Alexander Remnev, don't use a selfie stick to scale tall buildings. You're not King Kong.