Photo-free zones should surely click

Social media chroniclers are inescapable today in public spaces, and while many grumble about it, nothing is ever done to really curb this urge to click-and-post personal experiences almost by the minute.

Indeed, many art events, restaurant offerings and the like are conceptualised with this lens-scaping phenomenon as the prime focus. In that context, the move by a small art museum in San Francisco to chalk out “photo-free” hours is unquestionably brave.

More so since their flagship event features perishable (and, therefore, timebound) fresh flowers juxtaposed against specific artworks.


If these installations are not clicked and disseminated within a limited timeframe, they risk being not being publicised at all. This museum’s managers have obviously risked social media blackouts once they realised there are art lovers who are not inextricably attached and addicted to their smartphones.

These people usually risk blackouts (and worse) themselves by smartphone users jockeying for the best angles for their snapshots.

Eminently Instagrammable monuments such as the Taj Mahal have plenty of space for both kinds of people to enjoy vistas in their separate ways. But “photo-free” zones should be considered for more confined spaces such as museums and restaurants, as smoking areas ones used to be.