Bruce Dickinson’s Worried About the Social Media, Your Phones, and Your Mental Health

I don’t know about you, but the number of times I’ve openly wondered if the internet was a mistake is definitely a non-zero amount — and I make my living on it. Now, imagine an older gent, maybe in their mid-60s, seeing youths holding up their phones to record a concert or constantly on social media to mine clout. It’s gotta be worrying.

At least that’s what Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson had to say during a recent interview on Charlie Kendall’s Metalshop. In a world increasingly consumed by their screens, he’s worried it’s creating a cadre of narcissists around the world.

“Now we have the crazy thing where people are observing themselves and TikTok and all the rest of it, and the influencers who need no qualifications whatsoever to be an influencer and influence people with oftentimes dumb opinions. This crazy world in which we’re so obsessed with influencing other people. And this kind of narcissistic [attitude of], ‘Hey, look at me now.’

“I stand in front of like 50,000 people and go, ‘Hey, look at me.’ But when I step off stage, that’s it.  It’s over. It’s done. I don’t think that that has any value other than what I’m actually doing. The reason you look at me, hopefully, is ’cause I’m singing some stuff or I’m telling you a story or whatever, but when it’s done, it’s done. I don’t need to walk around with the equivalent of a mirror attached to my face to know that I’m a good person.”

It’s been pretty well documented that social media use as a young adult and younger can have an impact on their mental development. As an older man, Dickinson said he was worried that our over reliance on the supercomputers in our pockets could stunt people.

“I just get worried about people’s mental health with the stuff that goes on in the web. I just think it puts too much pressure on people and people forget how to be a community anymore. That’s why in Maiden, we’re trying to say to people, ‘When you come to a show, why don’t you just keep your phone in your pocket and try and look at everybody else around you and join the show and be there for the people that you are with?’”

Other bands have tried to combat the use of phones at their concerts, usually by forcing ticket holders to stuff their phones in lock bags that don’t get opened until after the show. Dickinson said he doesn’t necessarily want to do that at Maiden shows, instead opting for a softer approach to the whole thing.

“It’s not a requirement. It’s a request. It’s a polite request.  What is the point in paying all this money and turning up and staring at a tiny little box for, like — I don’t know — however long. I mean, first of all, Maiden’s show is two and a bit hours long, so your arm’s gonna get real tired.”

What are your thoughts on cellphones at shows? Let us know in the comments below.

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