Has Los Banos High School implemented Yondr pouches as of the writing of this article? The answer is no; however, but our school will most likely consider the pouches as an option because of the law passed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, mandating restrictions of cell phone usage in schools throughout the state by July 1, 2026.
Many events or things, such as schools, individual concerts, and comedian shows, have begun attempting to become phone free events. In order to achieve this, the events use Yondr pouches.
What is a Yondr pouch? A Youndr pouch is a pouch which the user places the phone inside the pouch to be locked inside. As to how to get the phone out of the pouch, on Yondr’s official website they state, “To use your phone at any time, step outside the phone-free zone and tap your pouch on an unlocking base.”
Schools in particular have had issues with attention directed towards cellular devices. Thus explaining why some have been implementing Yondr pouches for students.
One of the school’s administrators, Vice Principal, Mrs. Angela McGraw, was asked what she thought of the pouches and she said, “I find the concept of Yondr pouches intriguing.”
McGraw responded to the question of if the pouches were necessary by saying, “Yondr pouches aren’t universally necessary, but they provide a practical solution in environments where distractions or misuse of devices are significant issues.”
Yondr’s website supports her idea and gives statistics to support. According to their website, their partners saw a 83% increase in student engagement within the classroom, a 74% increase in student behavior, and a 65% increase in academic performance when students were off their phones.
With these statistics it would make sense to implement Youndr pouches into school; however, students have other things in mind.
A poll was conducted on campus through a Google form asking students questions about Yondr pouches which in total had 183 responses.
When asked if they like the idea of Yondr pouches, 97.8% of the respondents said no.
There were similar results in the next question where 78.8% of respondents said that there was no need for the pouches in the school. One of the respondents, Marlen Ramos elaborated by saying, “Most people would put fake phones (inside the pouches); if there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Interestingly enough, 20.2% of the respondents said that the pouches could be necessary, however wouldn’t work as intended.
A lot of the respondents from this percentage voiced in their elaborations concerns about communication during emergencies and or to their parents if their phones were in pouches.
Respondent Yandel Diaz (10) worded this concern the best when he said, “My more tame, not in-depth rant is that these things could be necessary IF done right, but a major problem if you do these things is what happens if your parents or you need to call them about medicine/stuff you need or other stuff like an emergency? Well, you can’t cause, they’re (the phones) stuck in a pouch.”
And that’s the issue most students find with the pouches, that their phones are stuck within the pouch. Many respondents expressed concerns regarding school lockdowns and emergencies and not being able to access their phones in a timely manner.
Are current day students more attached to their phone than other past generations? Yes, and this was even voiced by some respondents. Something that is overlooked at this aspect is that this generation is able to see the shortcomings of something like the Yondr pouches, whether it be cutting off communication or alternative educational devices that phones can be.
