Percussion

One expects highbrow cultural events to be populated by the members of society who understand the protocol of such events. Perhaps it is testament to the growing popularity of the art (or more likely the pulling power of the principals) that many people appeared to be as unfamiliar with the protocol as I was. Fortunately I was attending the ballet with my wife, who is very familiar with the protocol that one only claps at the end of each act or after an exceptional passage* of dancing. However, a number of people seemed to think it was de rigueur to clap whenever Carlos Acosta entered or left the stage, or indeed did pretty much anything else.
I'm not talking about this to just to emphasise what a massive snob I am; the inability of many people to comprehend when it is appropriate to clap has been driven by a surge in clapping in general since the turn of the millennium. I first became fully aware of it whilst trying to watch the Arcade Fire at Glastonbury a number of years ago (2004?). I say 'trying' because the band were regularly drowned out by the people around me clapping, singing and wooing along. I'm fairly certain that most of them were entirely oblivious to the fact that they were doing it. When I mentioned this to a friend at the time, she dubbed it 'audience 2.0', an inevitable consequence of interactive culture and an evil to be endured.
My problem is that I don't see why I should have to endure it and I wouldn't have to if people were just a little more thoughtful about what they do. Reflex clapping is a symptomatic of a larger trend in society of thoughtless responses of all sorts. The results can have far reaching effects. Through lazy responses on social networks, you could easily become part of a Twitter storm that changes public policy in a way you were not anticipating. With great power comes great responsibility; with a tiny fraction of that power, we should at least exercise a modicum of responsibility.
I am not saying everything we do should be considered and premeditated, I am just saying next time we find ourselves doing something as a reflex (say, clapping at a funeral) maybe we should just take a moment to think 'why am I doing this?'
Maybe we should start with just clapping. Maybe every time you find yourself clapping, ask yourself 'why am I clapping?' Maybe we'll start questioning all our actions a little bit more.

* I'm not sure this is the correct term, but as I say, I'm new to all this.