How technology changed Music Festivals!

Concerts have changed a lot since the Woodstock days of the late 1960s. Here’s an infographic that compares how technology is used by fans at music festivals such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California compared to the iconic Woodstock festival held in 1969.

Now, concerts incorporate lots of advanced technology. Not only do some shows include holographic images of deceased artists and boast interactivity such as texting song requests to bands in real time, but it’s far easier to connect with family and friends back home than ever.

“In 1969, fashion defined a generation,” the infographic notes. “People expressed themselves by what they wore. Today, the most expressive accessory is our smartphone.”

Although 66% of concert goers nowadays take pictures at concerts via their smartphones, music fans carried around Polaroid cameras in the ’60s. These wonky devices weighed about 2.5 pounds and could take eight pictures with each pack. Smartphones weigh a lean 4.3 ounces and can hold about 5,722 photos.

Meanwhile, people once lined up at pay phones to make calls to friends and families during concerts. Now, about 32% send Facebook updates or tweets from a show and 47% of ticket holders text and email others while at a show.

In addition, long gone are the days where lighters were used to signal a ballad or encore — the glow from smartphones accomplish the same thing.