Our dignitaries must learn that filming solemn events on their smartphones is deeply disrespectful

Wasn’t it a moving speech from The Queen about her “resilient generation”, said my equally resilient 95 year old mother. And, I thought to myself, what on earth did US Ambassador Woody

Johnson think he was doing?

Standing directly behind Her Majesty, Mr Johnson felt it necessary to film the speech on his smartphone. Being largely composed of the back view of the Queen’s hat, it must have been a

terrible video. But the worst was that he made himself look like a teenage fan at a gig, and outraged members of the public immediately took to their own smartphones to say so (with the

vehemence which only Twitter knows) proving that they had only slightly more ability to focus on the solemnity of the occasion than the hapless chlorinated-chicken-loving diplomat.

At least Johnson was standing more or less still. The Czech Republic’s Ambassador, Libor Secka, two seats down from Johnson, went further. He had managed to be really very good nearly all

the way through, but just as The Queen paid tribute to the “heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who lost their lives” his nerve broke, and he just HAD to get his phone out and take a

quick snap – or possibly a selfie – over Her Majesty’s shoulder.

One trouble with a smartphone is that only you, the owner, can see what you are doing on it. Years ago I found myself at a Polish Easter Sunday mass in the middle of the West Country.

Wanting to focus properly, I downloaded a handy Roman Catholic app with the full Mass in English. As I scrolled through the service I became uncomfortably aware that however devout my

expression, I still looked suspiciously as though I was scrolling through Facebook during the Eucharist. And for all we know, Mr Johnson was commemorating his compatriots’ bravery by

catching up on the much-lauded finale of Fleabag Season Two. It looks the same.

Solemn occasions now are routinely peppered with people holding their phones in front of them as though it is the only way we can show respect. I am sure Johnson did not intend to look

disrespectful, but he did, because he was part of the event, not part of the TV audience.

His office required him to be representing the thousands of Americans who fought and fell on that day 75 years ago. If someone who is part of an event decides to film it, they are removing

themselves to the position of an observer.

If no bride and groom have yet greeted each other at the altar with their smartphones held at chest-height, it will probably happen this summer, and everyone watching will whisper to their

neighbour, “I give them one year.”

Everyone over a certain age, that is. For many people under thirty, filming an event genuinely is a mark of deep respect, a sign that the event is valued. We shall have to wait and see if

this generation can rekindle an interest in being fully part of an event, fully present in mind and body, able to absorb an extraordinary moment so that later on it flashes “upon that inward

eye which is the bliss of solitude” – rather than flashing past as an Instagram story.

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