U2 on Instagram: We’re not sure if kids and their smartphones are saving or destroying our concerts

Let’s just start by acknowledging that getting old sucks.

U2 is old. They’re not Rolling Stones old. But the band is about to turn 40. U2 has been playing together since 1976 (No. 1 song that year in the U.S.: “Silly Love Songs” by Wings) and released its first album in 1980 (No. 1 song in U.S.: “Call Me,” by Blondie.)

This is a band that got its start when 8-track tapes were still a thing. They survived (and often thrived) with the debut of MTV, the rise and fall of cassette tapes, the arrival of compact discs, Napster, the rise and fall of iTunes and the iPod, YouTube. And now music streaming.

Now this ragged band of Irishmen are back on tour. And in a profile by Instagram (side note: When did Instagram starting doing its own magazine profiles?), the fellas say they’re trying to get the kids to come out to see them this time around.

But that topic led U2 members dangerously close to the classic old-man trap: What’s wrong with kids today?

As Instagram @Music writes: “Though bringing in a new generation of U2 devotees is important, a more youthful audience also means dealing with the trappings of digital media, where people feel the need to capture every second of every show.”

In other works: Pesky kids on Instagram! (Irony filter: disabled.)

Thus begins a debate in Amsterdam among the lads:

“There were less here than there were in Italy,” says Bono of the number of phones he saw pointed in his direction the evening prior.

“In Italy it turns out everybody and their mother was doing it,” adds Larry.

“And their daughter and friends,” says Bono.

Adam steps up to offer his appeal.

“I think what it has instituted,” he says, “and you see it a lot from the stage, is the minute there’s not much to look at, people go to their phones, and they start to check their emails and stuff. That’s a new phenomenon.”

“That’s not what I am talking about,” Larry says to Adam. “What I am talking about is when there is something happening, the phone comes up to record it, which is a different response.”

Bono, ever the peacemaker, wraps things up by saying: “I think we should just see it as a new phenomenon that will settle when people get over the gadget.”

Of course, by the time we “get over” our smartphones, we’ll be covered in wearables and Periscoping and Snapchatting every single second of our lives. So, it seems unlikely future generations are going to be less tech-centric at live concerts.

In fact, once we all have virtual reality goggles and can watch 360-degree livestreams of concerts, we won’t have to pay $300 to sit in a giant auditorium and deal with the hassle of parking and long lines for the bathroom and that guy smoking his fifth blunt…At that point, the bigger challenge may be getting anyone to actually show up in person.

Perhaps that’s the next thing U2 has to fear: Playing to empty theaters where seats are filled with digital avatars (Where the audience has no name!) so the audience back home can have the illusion that there’s a loud, rowdy crowd singing along to “40.”

Like I said, getting old sucks.

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