Phone-Free Events Aren’t New But Have Been On The Rise

There are different degrees to which an event can go cell phone-free. The “soft-cell” one is to place stickers over guests’ cameras to keep them from photoing or videoing the event. A more stringent approach is to tell guests to keep it in their pants—meaning their phone—throughout the event. The strictest end of the phone-free spectrum is to confiscate all phones at the door.

Regardless, don’t try to sell this cell phone-free thing as a completely new idea. As Itkin-Weinstein emphasized to me, “There are a lot of great spaces in New York and like in Berlin that have always had policies like this.” What’s new is the rise in popularity of such events. Eventbrite data showed that from 2024 to 2025 the number of countries offering such events went from five to 12. During the same two-year time span, attendance to such events went up by 121 percent.

It could be OK, though, to call the U.K. the epicenter of this phone-free movement right now. From 2024 to 2024, the number of phone-free events in the United Kingdom grew by a whopping 1,200 percent. Attendance, in turn, has exploded by 1,441 percent there. The same measures in the U.S. by comparison have gone up by 388 percent and 913 percent, respectively.

The future does look bright for phone-free events, at least based on Eventbrite data. The number of such events in the first quarter of 2026 has already exceeded a third of last year’s total. As they say, success breeds success. “We saw how well the one-off events went with the no phone policy that we’re like, how can we embed this,” recalled Itkin-Weinstein. “I personally find that less phone usage makes the events feel more special. There’s more freedom, and people feel less like they’re being filmed or it just feels like we’re all there for the same reason.”

What Trends Are Driving Phone-Free Events

This brings up the reasons for this phone-free trend. Itkin-Weinstein mentioned freedom as one of them. Recall the rallying cry from the 1995 movie Braveheart that went: "They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!" Well, these days, there can be the feeling that smartphones have taken over our lives and our freedom.

The loss of freedom can be from being constantly tethered to your phone and other digital devices, feeling like you have to always respond quickly to notifications and messages. But there’s also the constant risk that someone else could be filming you on his or her phone that may leave you more inhibited, afraid to be and act free. A phone-free event, in turn, “gives a little more feeling of security,” Itkin-Weinstein explained. “You aren’t walking into like a film studio or something like that.”

Such freedom can allow people to be more spontaneous and authentic. And as I have written before in Forbes, evidence does suggest that more and more people are craving spontaneity and authenticity. This may be due in part to so much on media, TV and social media these days being carefully curated and heavily edited beforehand. This can leave people seeking things that are more genuine and original, as evidenced by the chaos culture trend.

The proliferation of smartphone use has contributed to the digital overload problem as well. The past three decades have seen substantial rises in screen time. And that can have its consequences on both mental and physical health. Heck, one study that I covered before in Forbes even suggested that increased screen time could potentially lead to earlier puberty.

Then there’s the loneliness epidemic, which can been growing since the 1980 and has been called a “pressing health threat” by the World Health Organization, as I detailed in 2023 in Forbes. The WHO is certainly not alone in feeling this way. So when you do go to an event with other people, one of the last things you may want to do is feel alone. And being in an area where everyone may be physically present but not really fully present because they are on their phones could make you feel quite “phone alone.”

How A Phone-Free Event May Feel Different

All of these trends is why a phone-free event can feel different—quite different. As Susan Birne-Stone, Ph.D., LCSW, a therapist and coach who has a blog called “Making Sense” for Psychology Today, indicated, “Phone-free events provide the opportunity for people to not only ‘be in the moment’ but to also realize how much of a habit looking at a device has become.” In other words, the contrast can be striking. Of course, not having full access to your phone can bring up some discomfort, too, as Birne-Stone emphasized: “Some may also become uncomfortable as feelings and thoughts arise that cannot be distracted by scrolling.”

It is true that when you first don’t have full access to your phone, you may feel that something is missing—like you’ve lost a crutch. There can initially be a “so, what do I do now” feeling. But soon you may notice that the people around seem more engaged with and immersed in the event and experience itself. They aren’t constantly checking their phones to see where Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were last seen holding hands. They aren’t holding their phones up in the air trying to film what’s happening. They are instead what’s happening.

While at a recent phone-free event at Elsewhere, I talked to several of the attendees. They expressed appreciation for the phone-freeness of the events. One said that there were more conversations happening. Another indicated that she ended up meeting more new people. A third relayed that people were more present. And a fourth felt that people were more connected with each other.

In general, the phone-free events that I’ve attended have felt comparatively more intimate. Creating a more intimate experience was the stated motivation behind Harry Styles’ phone-free “One Night Only” show back in March. Styles is certainly not the only one to try the phone-free thing as other musical artists like Fred Again have gone that way too.

Again, the reception to these phone-free events have apparently been quite positive to date. So smart money might say that more and more event organizers and venues will think of more and different ways to keep smartphones away.