Whether it’s nightclubs banning phones or a drop in online dating, there are signs that we’re rediscovering the joy of being in the moment

It’s only a small rectangular sticker, but it symbolises a joyous sense of resistance. Some of Berlin’s most renowned clubs have long insisted that the camera lenses on their clientele’s phones must be covered up using this simple method, to ensure that everyone is present in the moment and people can let go without fear of their image suddenly appearing on some online platform. As one DJ puts it, “Do you really want to be in someone’s picture in your jockstrap?”

Venues in London, Manchester and New York now enforce the same rules. Last week brought news of the return of Sankeys, the famous Mancunian club that closed nearly a decade ago, and is reopening in a 500-capacity space in the heart of the city. The aim, it seems, is to fly in the face of the massed closures of such venues, and revive the idea that our metropolises should host the kind of nights that stretch into the following morning. But there is another basic principle at work: phones will reportedly either be stickered or forbidden. “People need to stop taking pictures and start dancing to the beat,” said one of the club’s original founders.

John Harris is a Guardian columnist. His book Maybe I’m Amazed: A Story of Love and Connection in Ten Songs is available from the Guardian bookshop