Some people claimed that 2016 was the worst year ever.

Presumably those people had never heard of the bubonic plague, or the First World War, or the Second World War.

But whether you’re a rational human being, or a crybaby who says a whole year is bad because some celebrities died and some people voted differently to you; surely we can all agree that 2017 is already worse than last year.

Why?

Because Apple has announced the inclusion of a “theatre mode” on a future iPhone update.

Because it can’t bear the thought of smartphone-slaves not tapping away for 120 minutes, the tech giant plans to add a feature to iPhones that will allow them to be used during movies.

The mode will dim the screen, turn off all noises and disable the phone’s ability to transmit messages, however the rest of the device’s functions will remain. That includes cameras and games.

Apple says that the feature (which will be controlled by an icon that looks like a piece of popcorn) isn’t there to encourage using the phone in the cinema, but I don’t believe that for a second.

Flight Mode is an easy way to turn off incoming and outgoing messages, and is what a lot of people already use when in a place where phones should remain silent and unlit.

By expressly calling something “theatre mode” and having an icon that looks like a cinema snack, it obviously raises the spectre of using the phone within the environs of a cinema (or, heaven forbid, a traditional theatre).

Mobile phones have two acceptable states when in a cinema: In your bag/pocket, on silent or in your hand as you hurry out because you’ve had an emergency text from the babysitter (police officers and doctors on-call both get the same allowance.)

And that’s it.

The concept of a “theatre mode” should never have made it past the whiteboard stage. Its very existence implies that there is some kind of scenario where using a phone in a cinema is acceptable.

And just like the idea of getting rid of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, most customers think it’s a dreadful idea, but Apple is pushing ahead regardless.

None of this makes sense, but there are a minority of real-life humans who will think it’s a good idea and make use of it.

“I’ve just spent £700 on this – I’m going to use it. And look at that button – it’s for the cinema.”

“They’re going to use their phones anyway. At least this way it’s less disruptive.”

What drivel.

People who use phones in cinemas are selfish, but they’re also idiots.

Disrupting the film for others is self-centred, but doing it to yourself is just witless.

Even the slightly more conscientious dullards who sit in the back row so nobody can see their screens, are just wasting their own money. Cinema tickets aren’t cheap, so why the hell would you pay over the odds to sit and look at your phone?

But thanks to Apple, expect to see even more people doing it.

It’s depressing enough that people have decided for themselves that it’s impossible for them to disconnect from the outside world for a couple of hours; even more so when that wretched worldview is apparently endorsed by one of the most-successful businesses on the planet.