Bob Dylan has an important message about smartphones for Scotland's young generation

This week a music reviewer reflected on her experience of the TRNSMT music festival in Glasgow. She was perplexed. Over 15 years she’d seen hundreds of gigs all over the country but never one where the crowd seemed more interested in their phones than the music.

Images from last weekend showed a sea of youngsters holding up devices and filming what was in front of them. Despite it being captured in high definition for TV, what counted was their personal footage from 50 metres back with a big bloke in the way. 

It mattered because it proved they were there. Not present in the moment soaking up the experience but demonstrating they were part of the biggest musical event in Scotland this summer. Even there, fear of missing out means constantly having to check to see you’re in the right place at the right time. That turned out to be the VIP tent where Travis played a ‘secret’ gig which, you guessed it, was endlessly shared on social media by those present. 

Move up the age demographic and that attitude is watered down. Over the same weekend at Wimbledon, tennis fans took their Centre Court selfies before the match but then tucked phones away for the duration, trusting the 17 carefully positioned BBC cameras. 

Older still and the mobile reverts to being what it once was, a phone to speak to people which is often switched off, sometimes mislaid. The contrast to how different generations use devices is striking but will be ironed out over time.

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Today’s teenagers will soon be twentysomethings, then parents, then middle-aged and with that transition comes the steady advance of the influence devices have on our lives.

It’s all happened so quickly. The first text message was only sent in 1992. Four years later just 16 per cent of UK households had access to a mobile phone. 

Slaves to technology

Nowadays they are ubiquitous. What would you rather leave at home, your phone or your purse or wallet? For an increasing number of people, the former is also the latter and so much more besides. 

The role they play means they have changed from being a useful tool to help us live our lives to being central to our existence. Much of that is for the good. The two British boys missing on a mountainside in Bali last week were found thanks to a tracker app and a trail of information on social media and messaging platforms. 

But we need to be in charge of the technology and not slaves to its relentless march. Social media is the big worry where self-esteem is measured in likes and shares. It also chips away at attention span. Young people are now reading less with endless short TikTok clips filling the space once occupied by a good book.

Greater protection promised

We’re now starting to understand the mental health and social problems resulting from the rise of the devices but that’s not enough. We need to control their use before they completely control us.

Many schools are now restricting the use of smartphones and Labour have promised greater protection for individuals who suffer at the hands of social media.

In November, Bob Dylan is coming to the Usher Hall with his phone-free tour where mobiles are banned. Perhaps he should headline TRNSMT next year?