Bar owner blocks phone signals to make patrons chat again

A bar owner has implemented a system to block phone signals to force patrons to chat to one another rather than people that they’re not out with.

Steve Tyler created what’s called a Faraday cage – named after physicist Michael Faraday – by putting tin foil behind the wallpaper and installing a copper box to block signals.

Explaining this decision, Tyler said, “Whenever you go out these days, people are always glued to their phones, looking down at their screens instead of talking and interacting with others. I think people are starting to get fed up with it. It feels like there is a backlash on the way. I want people to talk to the people they are with, not with those they are not with.”

The Gin Tub in Hove emphasises interaction with other punters and those that you’re there with. It features vintage phones, allowing visitors to call other tables within the venue. He said, “It is a very sociable place and hopefully the ban enhances the experience of the evening out.”

“We just want people to talk to each other again,” he added.