Allowing Texting in Theaters is the Worst Idea Anyone Has Had Ever

Is this a can of worms you want to open AMC Entertainment? You really want to go down this road and see where it goes?

Phone addiction is something we need to push against, especially in the last place where cell phones are shunned: theaters

In an interview with Variety, AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron had this for a response when asked about the next generation texting in theaters:

Yes. When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow. You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life.

At the same time, though, we’re going to have to figure out a way to do it that doesn’t disturb today’s audiences. There’s a reason there are ads up there saying turn off your phone, because today’s moviegoer doesn’t want somebody sitting next to them texting or having their phone on.

This would only be implemented in a select few theaters, but it sets a dangerous precedent. I'm not one for the "Slippery Slope" argument, but letting people text in movie theaters is pretty much a Slip'N Slide for future problems.

Right now, anyone who whips out a phone in a theater is subject to public scorn and that is how it should be. If we normalize texting in movie theaters, there will be more and more rude jerks trying to tweet while I'm trying to watch a goddamn movie. We let them text during movies and next thing you know they are talking on the phone and taking selfies.

Texting in theaters is the last bastion of social interaction that discourages phone use. All us old folks are asking is that, for 1.5-2 hours, you ignore that dumb digital "life" of yours and quietly watch a movie with strangers.

The young generation is used to getting everything they want already. They can listen to any song in history instantly, binge a television series on a weekend and satisfy every fantasy they have through a Google search. We don't need to give them this.

Movie theaters are a chance to disconnect from reality. You pay good money to relax and watch entertaining movies on a giant screen. Stop looking at the tiny screen in your hand.