Are Phones a Nightclub Essential?

When it comes time to emerge from the nightclub, there’s one item that many find essential: their cellphone. 

Research by the Night Time Industries Association and London-based phone charging solution Joos finds a significant increase in anxiety and stress linked to a dead or dying phone when out at night in the UK. Eighty-two percent of young adults reported feeling unsafe when in such a situation. Additionally, 64 percent of females answered that they feel anxious or scared when out with a dying phone battery at night. Mobile devices are of great importance in getting home safely, whether through a traveling home alone app such as WalkSafe or a rideshare service like Uber. 

Interestingly, the study found that young people living in the U.K. find their phones more important than wallets. “Crucially, for younger people, smartphones and wallets are becoming one and the same,” the study says. “The push towards a cashless economy has been in the works for some time and, with younger citizens already bought-in, it speaks to the need for more charging points.”

Prior to Covid, the research shows that over 12 million nights spent out in the U.K. were abandoned when dealing with such phone issues. The results were staggering: there was a $497 million loss of revenue for the hospitality industry as a whole, resulting in $1.3 million per day. The study says this has likely risen since initial research due to the increased need for mobile devices in hospitality. In addition, U.K. nightlife is the fifth biggest industry, generating  $88.3 billion per year. The study added that 8 percent of all British employment is in the nightlife industry since the pre-pandemic study.