Could 'tweet seats' come to movie theatres?

By Sarah Sluis

For me, there's nothing worse than the glow of a cell phone screen out of the corner of my eye when I'm watching a movie. I don't think kindly of these people, either. Is it really that hard not to contact people for two hours? However, for many young people, texting and being constantly available is a way of life. Perhaps movie theatres' unfriendly environment for cell phones is partially to blame for the recent complaints about young people not showing up at the box office. If so, then perhaps movie theatres will be in line to adopt the "tweet seats" talked about in a recent USA Today article.

The newspaper cites a number of entertainment venues (but not movie theatres) that designate the back row as one that is acceptable for tweeting. I actually support this idea for movie theatres, with a few caveats.

1. Getting unwillingly stuck in the tweet row might be worse than getting stuck in the front row for a packed screening.

2. If the "tweet seats" are full or undesirable, people may use the fact that cell phones are allowed at all to justify their cell phone-checking during the show in the rest of the theatre.

3. There may be a bit of a learning curve. People may not understand exactly the concept of "cell phone seats." But isn't that what the pre-movie advertisements are for?

In a best case scenario, "tweet seats" would effectively corral all the would-be cell phone checkers into one place. They can enjoy their show their way, and everyone else can take a break from checking their email for a couple hours.

If movie theatres want to attract a young demographic, "tweet seats" may be it. With digital projection, it would be easy to designate a few theatres with such seats and program more youth-oriented movies in those locations. Most adults want movie theatres to provide a quiet, immersive experience. But most teens who go to the movie theatre on Friday and Saturday nights simply want to hang out with their friends away from their parents. For them, being connected is more important than devoting their full attention to a show (and face it, a lot of movies targeting that demographic don't need a viewer's full attention). If teens are shunning movie theatres, "tweet seats" may bring them back.