If you've been to any musical performances recently, you probably have seen the ocean of cell phones recording the whole thing on video or taking some pictures of the artist. I've been to a decent amount of concerts in my lifetime and they all seem to include these "phone oceans."

Should we be banning the use of these devices at live concerts, or should the concert goers have the right to record what they want?

I myself am guilty of snapping a few pictures of an artist or recording a short video of my favorite song being played. I feel that it's a good way to capture a memory but, what happens when people only see a concert through the screen on their phone? That's when I start to have a problem with it.

For me, witnessing a concert is an extraordinary thing. You hear your favorite songs performed right in front of your eyes. Plus, you are bonding with everyone else in the crowd as you sing all of the words without missing a beat. But, what if you can't truly take that experience in because you are too busy recording it?

Yes, you are capturing the concert with your camera but that's doing nothing for your overall concert experience.

What are you getting out of the concert, other than a bunch of clips for your Snapchat story or low-quality videos that can already be seen on Youtube?

Artists like Jack White and The Lumineers are known to be against excessive video recording devices at their live shows. White even goes as far as to announce it himself on stage before he performs. Some people really give him flack for that but honestly, I think he is on the right track. He isn't against the use of phones or social media in general, he is just looking out for everyone at his concert. He wants them to be able to see the show without distractions. When I'm at a concert, my view of the stage is always being obstructed by people with phones that are recording videos so, I can see where White is coming from.

I like to compare this situation to having phones in movie theatres.

You have seen the ads before movies play, in theatres. It's all about shutting off your phones and not being distracting to other moviegoers. They have strict rules against even using your phone at all in a movie theatre. I think about that same thing for concerts. If we can survive without using our phones for a few hours in the theaters, then why can't we do the same for concerts? Like I said before, I think a few pictures and a few videos are totally okay, as long as you are not a distraction to others.

There has to be a line somewhere.

There has to be a point where it's time to put the camera down. Nowadays, most concerts are recorded in full HD by the venue or artist themselves, anyway. Festivals like Coachella or Warped Tour record their artist's full concerts. Even better, the audio quality is better, the camera angles are better and it's still a way to document that memory, without using your own camera.

The take-aways: No, I don't think that devices should be banned but perhaps they should be limited during concerts.

I think that a few pictures and videos of a concert are great. Get a few to show off to your family and friends but after that, maybe try and stop taking them. I think that if you spend less time on your phone during concerts that you will have a better experience and memory of the performance in general. You won't need those twenty videos to remember the concert because, you will have a vivid memory that can hold much more than what can be captured with a camera.