From Yondr pouches to screen-free proms, the next generation rethinks phone dependence

In just three decades, our tiny pocket computers have become the center of our worlds. In the eyes of many, the root of all evil. Smartphones are the fascination of businesses, researchers, and even politicians, who are seeking to regulate the impact of the palm-sized technology. 

The results vary. And, to be blunt, there's no putting that cat back in the bag. So what, then, is the solution?

"I'm interested in the role of technology in modern life, fundamentally," said Graham Dugoni, founder and CEO of Yondr, one of the biggest names in the phone-free movement, a company that provides the infrastructure for anti-device social settings with their now recognizable lockable phone pouch. 

Maybe, suggests Dugoni and other advocates, instead of putting the kibosh on devices entirely, we need to treat modern society like a teenager on a rebellious streak. Rather than saying no, we need to show them support, offer a gentle hand, maybe even make them think it's their idea. In a way, it's time for some gentle parenting.

Phone free spaces defy Big Tech

Before moving to Silicon Valley, Dugoni was soaking up the work of existentialists like Martin Heidegger, Søren Kierkegaard, and University of California, Berkeley, professor Hubert Dreyfus. Dugoni even snuck a Kierkegaard quote — "The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived" — into Yondr's sparse online branding.

"As digital media and smartphones were kind of taking root, and there was this general feeling that everything was going to become connected everywhere, all the time, and that was going to lead us to this great outcome, I had a very different belief," he explained. "I thought that, especially for digital natives, the experience of walking around in the world with a phone in their pocket was going to be a radically different human experience." 

Too many existential quandaries — privacy, identity, community, and especially critical thinking — were being overlooked by Big Tech as phones took over lives, Dugoni thought. Of course, that turned out to be true: Constant access to the darker sides of the internet and recording devices that act like personal Big Brother drones have fostered a sense of detachment, apathy, and fear, argues the modern Luddite and researcher, alike.

So Dugoni set out to probe the big, nebulous questions with what he describes as a "National Park Service" for disconnected space. With Yondr, he would offer physical areas that were carved out from the rest of the digitally-attached world; neutral environments to remind people what a screen-free human existence feels like. 

Yondr has since ballooned, with hundreds of connected social spaces utilizing the company's green-edged pouches, locked by a magnet and, importantly, kept in the user's possession. When entering a phone-free space supported by Yondr, individuals pop their phone into a provided pouch, seal it up, and sign a metaphorical social contract that they won't touch the device until the event is over. If they must look, they have to leave the space, and use a provided unlocking area. Pouches are thin enough to see a screen light up, if someone is waiting on an important notification.  

Different from a locker or coat-check system, Dugoni explains that allowing the pouch to stay in a person's possession is meant to help break the phone addiction. "Once you interrupt the impulse [to look at your screen], it allows for a new habit or new neural pathway to form. My belief is that's how you educate people about the influence of technology — implicitly."

Schools, venues, and more go phone-free

Yondr provides the infrastructure for phone-free spaces, but it doesn't enforce phone ban policies. For example, Yondr pouches are behind the scenes in many schools across the country, as phone and social media bans sweep through the nation's education system. Schools purchase the three-part Yondr pouch system, which includes a curriculum that teaches partners how to build a campaign to go phone-free, educate students about digital literacy and phone dependence, and maintain a positive relationship to the pouch. Yondr steps in as needed and offers ongoing support, but building a phone free culture is the job of staff and students. 

At Fern Creek High School in Kentucky, which is finishing up its first school year with the pouches in place, Yondr was an answer to a longstanding problem. "We were trying to eliminate phones as a distraction; we wanted to make sure students had access to the resources they needed, thinking about special education or medical conditions; and we wanted to reduce the burden on teachers," explained assistant principal Ken Christian. Inspired by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt's insights into youth mental health in The Anxious Generation, school leaders created a committee, polled the student body and teachers, and eventually settled on building a full phone-free school using Yondr. 

Despite some early whispers of a student protest, the year has gone off without a hitch, and Fern Creek High began hosting walkthroughs for other institutions interested in the program. Students, but especially teachers, have noticed positive behavioral changes. "In a world where we are losing teachers by the day, if we can create an environment where people feel validated in their work and valued for their expertise, we're doing something right," Christian said. "We're still a public high school, and we still have behavior incidents. Our children do not act perfectly at all times. But what we have seen is the severity of those things are greatly diminished."

According to the company, pouches cannot be used as a punitive measure. Instead, Yondr wants to seed the ground for a social shift. "Every district and school launch is like a mini campaign. You have to get the whole community on board, because this is a social problem that we're dealing with," Dugonia explained of their bespoke model. "It's the same way that just patching up things on social media to protect certain people or classes is not going to solve the bigger systemic issues."

Yondr pouches have also appeared across live event spaces, including the now history-breaking run of Broadway's Othello, led by Hollywood giants Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. Live comedy has proven to be a ripe area for the pouches, too. "It's like a game changer for the comedians," said Roze Lleshi, director of talent for the Los Angeles-based venue the Comedy Store. "They really love it because they feel like it's more free. You need freedom of expression as a comedian." 

Lleshi says she feels like audiences are more engaged with their phones stowed away, more willing to stay in the space longer, and have had less confrontations with security. Audiences have yet to push back on the policy, which is flagged at the time of purchase and repeated during an entry spiel. The venue was inspired by other comedy venues using pouches.

"The tech world promises that there's endless options in life — there's only more [options], and that leads you to a better place," Dugoni says. "The issue is, I don't see that mirrored anywhere in human nature or physical nature. Everything is finite. Boundaries are really important. Embracing limitations is actually a precondition for meaning in people's life." 

Not a one-size-fits-all solution 

As Yondr pouches and other phone-free policies have spread, many have remained skeptical of their efficacy. 

Critics have noted that pouches can be easily broken, damaged, or "jailbroken" with external magnets. Parents have expressed concern over their child not having personal devices during an emergency. Others have taken issue with the cost — money that, they say, could be better used elsewhere. Fern Creek High School's program totaled $35,000. Programs generally run at $30 per student, Yondr explained, with discounts available.

Some have concerns that phone bans will make it harder to hold public figures accountable. One of Yondr's most notable performer partners, for example, is Dave Chapelle, who chose to enforce phone-free shows following public protests of his gigs after numerous transphobic statements.   

None of this has deterred partners from purchasing from Yondr, however, and organizations have found ways to adjust to the needs of their physical spaces in the name of a digital revolution. At the Comedy Store, most but not every show is a phone-free space, with some of the venue's promoters encouraging the interaction between phones and performers in the name of art, like during a roast.

As Christian asks fellow educators: "If I told you there was one single product that could change the culture of your building, so that students and staff feel more positively about being there, and you could reduce the severity of your behavior events and see academic improvements, do you think it would be worth $35,000? Being a phone-free school was worth that investment, and we would make that investment every year if we had to."

Even for all their ills, phones can also be lifesaving, with accessible and democratizing tools for education, health, and revolutionary action. Phone-free spaces thus exist in a grey area amid the modernization of accessible tech, and the obligations of venues under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). During the recent Othello run, some guests reported that they were simply offered a ticket refund after asking to keep their phones unlocked in order to monitor hearing aid levels and blood sugar counts, using popular technology like Dexcoms. 

In schools, many students are reliant on phones for language translation, or alternative communication devices, in addition to health monitoring. 

This is a failure of communication, not the program itself, the company said. Christian explained that students with special cases are given Yondr velcro pouches rather than magnetized ones, making it easier for them to reach their device quickly, while Chromebooks have been used as substitute for phone apps among the schools' multilingual students. And he says it hasn't impeded the wider phone-free culture, as there's a growing awareness among students that their peers may have different tech needs.

"We recognized early on that technology is quite literally a lifeline for many, and quick access to a phone or mobile device for medical needs requires accommodations," a Yondr spokesperson clarified. "When developing our phone-free program, we made sure to create an alternative option so people could easily get to their device if needed. We accommodate medical exemptions on-site. Upon arrival, guests notify Yondr or venue staff that they require immediate access to their device for medical purposes…most often through designated wristbands that allow for easy device retrieval while maintaining the phone-free experience for others."

The next disconnected generation 

The phone-free movement exists in a multitude of forms and has benefits for all ages, but it is increasingly focused on younger generations, as the youth mental health crisis looms. 

Larissa May, founder of the youth-led nonprofit #HalfTheStory, argues that, rather than a hard line, phone-free advocates need to keep phone boundaries flexible. #HalfTheStory is an education and social initiative focused on improving the next generation's relationship with technology, including an online digital literacy curriculum known as Social Media U. 

"At a time where it is important to be talking about phones and academic performance," explained May, "I think it's even more important to be talking about phones and humanity, and #HalfTheStory is in the business of preserving humanity."

May was inspired to launch the effort by her own experiences with emotional well-being and technology, leading to a viral social media purge that turned her into a leading mental health advocate. In 2025, #HalfTheStory's mission is strongly research-based, centered on the Digital Flourishing Scale for Adolescents, with an equally knowledgeable May at the helm. It pioneers multiple digital well-being programs, including phone-free spaces. 

For example, #HalfTheStory recently partnered with youth advocates and Pinterest to launch a series of screen-free proms, where teens designed their own version of an offline social event complete with phone lockers and a return to old school memory keepers: Polaroid cameras. 

"We can't save the world through fear," said May. "We can't scare young people into long term change, and kids are much more excited about putting their phones away and getting out a Polaroid camera than they are in having an adult rip a phone out of their hand."

Dugoni agrees, noting that Yondr was one of the first to popularize the use of "phone-free" rather than "phone ban." "We want people to feel a sense of freedom, not that the online world or technology is bad or evil. That's not the point. The point is to get people to experience something different and see what that means for them."

Raising a phone-free counter culture

In every phone-free framework, the most important determinant of success is social buy-in, these phone-free advocates say, prioritizing the input of digital natives and making everyone feel like they had a say in how and when they use tech. 

"We know that not all screen time is created equal, and that if we don't put teens at the center of this movement, we won't be able to make long term change," said May. "It has to be their idea for them to believe and authentically participate in it." The organization's programs work, she says, because they are built from the bottom-up. And policies should meet societies and communities where they are. "There's a more low friction way to do it, and it's putting teens at the center, giving teens the keys."

At Fern Creek High School, Christian said that if they hadn't gotten approval from the school's stakeholders, primarily, its students, the phone-free policy would have never gotten off the ground. And in live event spaces, like the Comedy Store, it's artists who are asking for devices to go away, not business owners. 

Among the public, young people especially, there exists a desire to reconnect to community, said both May and Dugoni. May's work approaches this through preserving the last vestiges of youthful freedom. Christian says it's by framing phone-free spaces as an act of love. Dugoni pitches it like being phone-free is the coolest way to rebel against what those in power want from you.

"My opinion is life is always full, so if something new comes in, it pushes out something else that was there. Maybe part of the task with this generation is asking, 'What are we pushing out, and what do we value?'" said Dugoni. "What I'm most interested in is stoking that rebellious streak, and hopefully helping it find a productive outlet. Because every generation needs a counter culture. What's this generation's going to be?"