They’re the kind of events you plan for, and fork out a hefty amount of money for months or even a year in advance. You buy a new outfit, learn the entire setlist front to back, and set aside hours for the event itself – or, at least I do.

But, thanks to one Gen Z trend, the experience is being ruined for everyone, and in the midst of Drake’s Australian tour, people are finally calling it out.

Gen Z’s annoying new habit

As a member of Gen Z myself, I do find myself at a lot of events with a lot of fans of a similar age.

Taylor Swift, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, any former member of One Direction, you name it. And, I love it.

But, one thing I’ve grown to hate is the trend of people filming themselves at the concert, using the flash on their phones.

Trust me, I understand wanting to film your reaction to a song – Taylor Swift’s surprise songs come to mind in particular. However, at an event like these, being considerate of others is so incredibly important, and some people aren’t just getting it.

“It’s really distracting”

Drake is currently in the middle of his Australian tour, having performed in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney so far this month.

Image: Supplied, TikTok / @jadetunchy.

Of course, the shows themselves have received rave reviews. But, it’s the behaviour of some attendees that people aren’t so happy with.

Melbourne-based influencer Jade Brycki took to TikTok this week after attending Drake’s concert, asking for advice from her followers.

“I really need your opinion on this, because I don’t know if I’m just being old and boring in this scenario,” she said.

“I was at Drake last night, and it was really good, but there were these two people who were filming themselves the entire show with their flash on. LIke, phones facing them with their flash on the entire time.

“There were a couple of people behind them who I don’t think they were with, so they had these flashes in their face the entire time.”

Jade went on to call out these girls for their lack of consideration for others.

“It’s really distracting, like I was in the section above and the flash was distracting me, and felt like it was quite bright in my face, so I can’t even imagine how they felt with the phone directly in front of them with the flash on the entire time,” she said.

Commenters on the post tended to agree with Jade, saying that these younger crowds have lost all sense of concert etiquette.

“I’ll allow for 10 sec, but after that. I WILL GO KAREN! Hahaha,” said one commenter.

“Maybe I’m old but I feel like concert etiquette is not what it used to be,” another person said.

“This is 100% valid!! I had 2 people doing this sitting directly in front of me at the Weeknd concert with their flash in my face for the majority of the concert and it was so hard to see anything,” a third agreed.

Is there a right way to do it?

I completely understand wanting videos of yourself at a concert. I do it myself sometimes, and think it’s a cute way of saving memories with your loved ones who have come along to experience it with you.

But, there is definitely a right way to go about it.

If you’re planning on filming yourself at a concert, PLEASE keep it to a few seconds max. And, if you can manage to do it without the flash, that’s even better.

No one wants to be caught out in the background of someone’s concert video, being called out for ‘not enjoying it’. And, no one wants to watch a show with the flash in their face the whole time.

It’s just plain inconsiderate.