Yondr

Yondr
Founded2014
FoundersGraham Dugoni[1]
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
,
United States
ProductsYondr Pouch
Websitewww.overyondr.com

Yondr is an American company founded by Graham Dugoni in 2014.[2][3][4] Yondr sells its products to households and leases them to schools, courthouses, and venues around the world.[5][6][7][8]

Yondr's core product is the Yondr Pouch, a magnetic pouch in which a person's cell phone may remain in their possession but unusable within a designated phone-free area (such as a school, performance venue, meeting room, etc.). The Yondr Pouch is marketed to prevent cell-phone photography or recording at live events or prevent distractions at schools or workplaces without needing to confiscate and store phones away from their owners. The company has since spread to 27 countries and has offices in London and Dublin.

The company has since established its own outdoor music festival, which was held in 2023 in Greenville, New York.[9]

Background

Graham Dugoni, a former professional soccer player, founded Yondr after attending the Treasure Island Music Festival in 2012. After witnessing an intoxicated man dancing and people filming him, he questioned the effects of technology on personal privacy and freedom of expression. Dugoni leaned on his interest in sociology, phenomenology, and the philosophy of technology and began experimenting with several options for the design of the Yondr pouch.[10][11]

Implementation of Yondr products

A Yondr phone pouch
A Yondr phone pouch

In schools

Beginning in 2014, Yondr has been implemented in schools to address the issue with students using their phones during school hours.[12] It often has positive effects, however, not without controversy. The debate of whether students should be allowed to use their phone in school is a heated one. A 2024 poll taken by the National Parents Union found that more than 80% of parents supported the banning of phones in schools.[13]

In contrast, Time reported significant pushback by parents and students, regarding Yondr as an expensive and overcomplicated solution to a simple problem.[14]

Notwithstanding, in 2023 the US government spent $2.13 million on Yondr, a 52% increase over the previous year.[15] At the same time, some students who have Yondr implemented in their schools said they notice the benefits and support the use of Yondr in their school.[16] Schools have also reported increased academic performance, attention, and a decrease in fights and bullying.[14]

At concerts and shows

In 2019, the use of Yondr cases was reported to be growing more common in comedy and theater.[17] They have been utilized at concerts featuring artists like Bob Dylan,[18] Alicia Keys, Childish Gambino, and Guns N’ Roses, as well as during performances by comedians[19] such as Louis C.K.,[17] Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, and Ali Wong, who aim to prevent their material from being leaked on YouTube and to keep their audiences focused, free from distractions like Instagram.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ Statt, Nick (4 November 2014). "Phone-crazed audiences and fed-up musicians? Yondr is on the case Archived 2018-10-31 at the Wayback Machine". CNET. Accessed 30 May 2022.
  2. ^ Edgers, Geoff (16 June 2016). "Alicia Keys is done playing nice. Your phone is getting locked up at her shows now". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  3. ^ Megan Geuss (12 October 2014). "I let Yondr lock my smartphone in a sock so I could “live in the moment” Archived 2018-12-31 at the Wayback Machine". Ars Technica. Accessed 25 January 2018.
  4. ^ US patent 9819788, Graham Dugoni, "System and apparatus for selectively limiting user control of an electronic device", issued 2017-11-14 
  5. ^ Russon, Mary-Ann (4 December 2015). "Dave Chappelle using smartphone-locking case to stop audiences leaking stand-up routines online Archived 2019-01-06 at the Wayback Machine". International Business Times. Accessed 25 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Yondr Pouch by Yondr (Focally, LLC) Archived 2019-01-05 at the Wayback Machine". EdSurge. Accessed 25 January 2018.
  7. ^ Smith, Tovia (11 January 2018). "A School's Way To Fight Phones In Class: Lock 'Em Up Archived 2019-01-17 at the Wayback Machine". All Things Considered. Accessed 30 May 2022.
  8. ^ Slater, Joanna (2024-05-01). "How a Connecticut middle school won the battle against cellphones". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2024-02-25. Retrieved 2024-10-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ Gregory, Alice (2018-01-16). "This Startup Wants to Neutralize Your Phone—and Un-change the World". Wired. Archived from the original on 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  11. ^ Le, Anh-Minh (10 March 2020). "Phone Locks in a Time of Cancel Culture". Wall Street Journal.
  12. ^ "Schools".
  13. ^ National Parents Union, "New Poll Shows Parents Are against Cell Phone Ban in Schools; Raise Alarm over Negative Effects of Social Media on Children," National Parents Union, last modified March 13, 2024, accessed May 4, 2024, https://nationalparentsunion.org/2024/03/13/new-poll-shows-parents-are-against-cell-phone-ban-in-schools-raise-alarm-over-negative-effects-of-social-media-on-children.
  14. ^ a b Chow, Andrew (2024-03-24). "Cell Phone Pouches Promise to Improve Focus at School. Kids Aren't Convinced". TIME. Archived from the original on 2024-05-05. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  15. ^ Jacobson, Linda (2023-12-13). "Exclusive: Sales Skyrocket for Phone Pouch Company as In-School Bans Spread". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  16. ^ Greenemeier, Larry (2015-05-08). "Smartphone Lock Pouch Leaves Students to Their Own (Unusable) Devices". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  17. ^ a b Salam, Maya (November 2, 2019). "Louis C.K., Back on Tour, Looks to Accelerate His Comeback". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 4, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  18. ^ "Damon Albarn disagrees with Bob Dylan over mobile phone gig ban". www.bbc.com. Archived from the original on 2024-10-03. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  19. ^ a b Gregory, Alice. "This Startup Wants to Neutralize Your Phone—and Un-change the World". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2024-10-13.