Matthew Army, a representative from the Yondr cell phone pouch company, visited SHS on Monday, November 21st, to speak with SHS juniors who participated in a two-week project that included their product. As part of their “personal credo” experiment, approximately 40 SHS juniors voluntarily locked their cell phones in a Yondr pouch during the school day from November 7th-18th. Students wanted to experience what it would be like to attend school without the convenience (and distraction) of their cell phones.  

Currently, Yondr has partnered with 25-30 schools in the Northeast and over 1,000 schools nationally, including several boarding schools. At these boarding schools, students are required to keep their phones in Yondr pouches throughout the entire school day. According to Army, “Scituate is the only school that has ever used Yondr pouches voluntarily.”

Army highlighted several different perspectives of participants involved in the Yondr project. Beginning in the classroom, Army said Yondr is improving curriculum retention among students as they aren’t distracted with personal devices. Teachers appreciate the pouches because students can devote their full attention and participate more in class. Along with the teachers, administrators seem to also enjoy the use of Yondr pouches.

Army acknowledged some of the expected challenges of adopting the Yondr protocol in schools, stating, “Dealing with implementing it can be difficult, and is a lot of work.” Army also said, “Students hate Yondr for the first two days to two weeks and then they become used to it. After three weeks the whole school really gets into the groove of things.”

Yondr pouches have also become popular outside of schools. Sold-out concerts at venues such as The Wilbur, Fenway Park, and TD Garden, concert-goers are required to put their phones in a pouch for the duration of the show. Army explained, “Some artists don’t want to see phones, so we can help them with that.” 

Army also said that Yondr works with many businesses and “especially call centers” where they aim to “protect people’s sensitive data and prevent people from using their phones.” The growing use of Yondr pouches is also due to companies wanting a “larger engagement and less screen time because communication can be very tough online.”

The use of Yondr pouches is increasing face-to-face communication rather than connecting over text, email, or facetime. Yondr is shaping the future by encouraging people to return to authentic, in-person conversations that have been lost within the new era of technology.