Firestone installs phone jails to save students from themselves

You’ve been at that problem set for hours. You have a nearly-completed draft of your philosophy paper. You have almost all of those French conjugations memorized for tomorrow’s quiz. You deserve a break.

So, you open your phone. Just a quick scroll through some Instagram stories, then back to work! But a message comes in from the group chat. Naturally, you have to answer that quickly. Speaking of friends, you wonder where they are right now, so you open Find My iPhone to see. Someone sends you a video on TikTok, so you check that out super fast. And then, almost by instinct, you start to scroll. And scroll. And scroll.

Sound familiar? With all the work that piles up from classes, along with the demands of extracurricular activities and clubs, it is only natural that students need to take a break from the stress. But monotonously scrolling doesn’t have to be the only type of reprieve we take.

If you have been to Firestone Library this fall, you may have noticed a new addition to the circulation desk: a sign urging students passing by to “free yourself from your phone.” Upon asking an employee, I learned that Firestone had recently acquired Yondr pouches to aid students in finding this freedom.

Founded in 2014 by Graham Dugoni, Yondr is a company that creates hand sewn-pouches that lock one’s phone away. Yondr’s mission is to “alleviate the intrusion of personal technology to create vital, distraction-free experiences that enrich people’s lives.” Craving a “distraction-free” workspace and having a ton of work that needed to get done in a short amount of time, I decided to test them out for myself.

Checking out a pouch was simple. After the circulation desk employee scanned my prox, I was handed a pouch and informed that I could rent it out for five hours at a time. I slipped my phone in and pressed down on the button. I attempted to pry open the top of the bag, but it was no use — my phone was locked in tight.

So, taking the bag with me, I found a seat in the Trustee Reading Room and set the bag down beside me. The only way to unlock the bag was a device at the circulation desk, so while I was in my workspace, I had no ability to access my phone. As I started to work, I noted that having the presence of my phone concealed by the pouch helped me forget about the messages that might be popping up, a tendency I have even if I put my phone in “Do Not Disturb” mode.

As for breaks, when I needed to step away from work, I actually walked away, got water or simply stretched my legs instead of doomscrolling. These served as more productive brain breaks, not only because they were easier on my mind, but they were also much shorter. I had more time to do my work than if I had gone on my phone.

At the end of my work session, I returned to the circulation desk and used the unlocking device. All I had to do was connect my pouch to the device via a magnet, press down on the button again, and my phone was free!

I was surprised to see the amount of notifications I had missed. Typically, I am one to check them as they come in, getting distracted from my work at numerous intervals. But thanks to the Yondr pouch, I was able to complete all my work and go home feeling less stressed. Having experienced positive results myself, I would recommend giving these handy pouches a try during your next Firestone lock-in session.

Isabella Rivera is a member of the Class of 2027 and a contributing writer for The Prospect at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at ir6143[at]princeton.edu.

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