- A TikTok of a fan screaming in the front row of a Taylor Swift concert has divided viewers.
- Critics called the behavior "entitled," while others defended it as normal concert etiquette.
A March 17 TikTok of a young woman screaming in the front row of a Taylor Swift concert has divided commenters about what concert etiquette entails — and whether concert-goers bother to observe it anymore.
In the video, viewed 596,700 times, TikToker Sophie Bradley writes: "The last time I saw Taylor on tour the mom next to us asked us if we could calm down because we were scaring her 7 year old…." As Swift sings, the musician's vocals are drowned out by the user's screams.
"See you tomorrow @taylorswift," the University of Arizona student wrote in her caption. "I feel bad for whoever is next to me."
@sophienbradley See you tomorrow @taylorswift ! I feel bad for whoever is next to me #eras #erastour #swiftcity #glendale #midnights #taylorswift #taylornation @taylornation ♬ original sound - Sophie
"I would have told the mum to shut up and leave then," one user commented. "I basically did," the poster responded.
Commenters disagreed on what concert etiquette entails. Proponents of the screaming characterized it as par for the course, writing, "you're doing proper concert etiquette — you're supposed to scream and sing along!"
"I could totally understand if this was like some intimate, small gathering," one TikToker, who said she hadn't viewed the original video told viewers, adding, "but this is a stadium of like 60,000 fucking people, and you're telling me screaming is not concert etiquette?"
@hallehallle idk maybe im missing part of the story and she was screaming something crazy?♀️#taylorswift #concertetiquette #erastour #concert #concerts #taylorswifttour #swifties #taylorswifterastour #genz #concertrules #concertettiqute101 ♬ original sound - Alexandria
"Why would you go to a concert if you're not comfortable with screaming — let alone a fucking Taylor Swift concert?" she asked.
Critics, who thought the poster prioritized her experience over those around her, called the behavior entitled. "There's being excited, and then there's ruining the experience for others," one wrote.
"It's like they forget that everyone else there has ALSO paid money for their ticket and deserves to enjoy the experience," another wrote.
@tellthebeees #eras #erastour #taylorswift #swiftie #genz #millennial #discourse #tellthebeees ♬ Bejeweled - Taylor Swift
A March 19 critique of the video has nearly as many views as the original. In it, the creator @tellthebeees described the young woman's behavior as "shocking," and the proponents of it as exhibiting an "intense level of entitlement."
"You either go one of two ways, right?" he told viewers. "You say: I paid my money, so I'm allowed to behave however I want. Or, you say: 'we are living in a society with a mutually agreed upon set of social norms and mores.'"
"Sociologically," he continued, "you understand that there's an appropriate way to behave when you're surrounded by people who also paid $500 or whatever, but it's like your level of fun and comfort is superseding everyone else around you."
The creator described the behavior as an example of "the Boomerification of Gen Z," hypothesizing that there's a generational divide between how Gen Z concert-goers and millennials act at a live show: "I feel like we millennials didn't act like this at concerts," he said. "This is something that is so shocking to me."
"As a millennial, I MAY have screamed like a crazy person, BUT if someone asked me to calm down, I'd be MORTIFIED and be sorry until I died ," wrote one commenter.
Some blamed COVID-19 for limiting the chances to "teach the younger generation appropriate concert behavior," while others noted that screaming at shows has "always been normal" and isn't limited to a younger generation, but agreed with the poster that "so is respect."
Swift has a famously intense fandom, and some fans appear to read such behavior as not only normal but also as a potential indication of being a true fan. "If you aren't acting like this at a Taylor concert she doesn't want you there," wrote one fan on the original TikTok.
"If you can't handle having a good time, don't come," wrote another. "I will be losing my mind."
Swift's highly anticipated "Eras Tour" kicked off on Friday in Glendale, Arizona, temporarily renamed "Swift City" in her honor.