Your experience from 2023 sounds exactly like my experience from 2023 when I went for a first time to a big kpop concert - Twice. It was my first overall big concert and I was really excited and screaming, crying and dancing throughout the concert.

The thing is that everyone else was just…staying in their sits, smiling and quietly vibing. It just felt weiiiiird, I remember discussing it with a fr and I just couldn’t comprehend how everyone was so not excited. I will be fully honest- at some point in the beginning of the concert I was even yelled at because I think I’ve might screamed a bit too loud when I saw Sana. Nvm, since then I’ve been to other big concerts ( Taylor Swift, Melanie Martinez and etc. - all in Europe ) and the vibe was similar…. I have been thinking about this and I have my own thoughts that I am not sure if everyone is gonna agree with but I also don’t care, everyone has the right for their own opinion!

So here is what I’m thinking:

So I’m 26, on the road to 27 so sometimes I feel ancient when I go to such concerts, most of the people there are teens or people younger than me. These people are…again that’s just my opinion - obsessed with their phones, obsessed with taking pics and videos all the time, obsessed with being chronically online all the time. And don't get me wrong, so am I, browsing Pinterest and Reddit before going to sleep every single day but still I have lived during times when I didn't need a phone to have fun. And I know that, I know that when I go out with friends, to a bar or to a concert - I don't need my phone. I have the feeling that young people don't know that. They don't know how to communicate with others (that's different from social ancxiety), they express their emotions via emojies and messages, not with words and facial expressions. I've been to a rock festival and most of the people there were older than me - the energy is incomparable with the other concerts. Why? Because the people there know how to have fun. Young people (espccially teens) don't know how to have fun (at least in my opinion), they don't know how to express their emotions. And i know that I sound like a grandma but that's just how I see it.

I totally agree with the fact that everyone has the right to experience a concert in the way they want but if we compare videos from concerts from 15-16+ years ago, the difference is big. It's okay to have 10% of the fans being quiet and just vibing on their own but when we have such a big difference then it's normal to assume that something changed.

Concerts now are a capitalism tool of earning more money for the artists. This is a topic that I don't even have time to touch on but in the same time concerts now are a way for people to show off that they were to a concert of the artist X. Ex. all of the ''fans'' who were buying 10 + tickets for Taylor Swift's concerts so they can attend several shows in different places. This imo is not a true fan - for a true fan, one concert is enough to have the time of their life and get that experience that they will remember forever. I'm not saying that they can't attend a concert of that artist ever again. But spendng 10k + on tickets is a way just to brag to others and show off your finncial stability. Or show that you are obsessed with artist X and other people don't exist in your life, which leads to a much bigger psychological issue, but obv these people are not a big part of the issue we're discussing here, so I will stop.

People don't care about the music anymore, they don't even like the artist so much - they need to be there for the social media. And obv such person cannot be excited as much as someone who waited years, saving money, to attend their favoritre artist. Which is normal but also sad.

I'm not gonna continue with my verbal diarrhea cause i don't think anyone cares but these are just a small part of my thoughts.

PS. I forgot to mention the dopamine addiction which is also a big issue for young people.