Kids have always found ways to outsmart rules for just about anything. Whether it be school rules, or rules enforced by their parents, kids will find a way to do it. It’s in our blood, as children, to break rules.
Rumors of a potential phone ban for next year are a large topic of decision, causing kids to spiral about what it could look like.
According to Sarah Strassburger, there are various options for a phone-free campus, but a large one considered is the Yondr Pocket system. The pockets are pouches that hold your phone, held shut by a security tag-like lock you would typically see in a clothing store. At the end of the day, you would unlock it with a special unlocking machine.
If you have ever gone through a Target self-checkout with any sort of clothing, you have probably accidentally walked out with one of those security tags. By simply watching a few YouTube videos, you could easily get the tag off. Just like a severity tag, you could do it with a Yondr Pocket. As the phone ban and these pockets are popular in Australia, kids are posting TikTok videos about how to easily open the pocket, even when ‘securely’ locked.
Some students are concerned about not being able to listen to music, but there are possible ways to continue to listen to music. According to Strassburger, we would most likely keep our phones in our own bags since the Yondr Pockets are individual pockets. This makes bluetooth connection extremely easy for listening to music.
If we were to carry our own phone pockets with us, it would lower the concern of lack of communication. Because if you have Airpods or an Apple Watch, you’re in luck because you can call and text through Siri. Apple has created an incredible system that works in students’ favor.
If there isn’t this option of carrying our phones in these Yondr Pockets, well, we’re basically doomed because there are not many ways to outsmart the system, but there are a few.
You could still listen to music through your school-provided Chromebook, coming the 2024-25 school year. Unfortunately, you wouldn’t have the freedom to listen to music through the halls, as the music stops when you close your computer.
You wouldn’t be able to communicate with anyone through your bluetooth device without the close proximity of your phone, but email exists. If you are in serious need of contacting anyone, you could email them. Gmail even has a system called Google Chat, or G-Chat for short, which allows you to chat with someone like iMessages, rather than exchanging long emails.
In all seriousness, the rumor of a phone ban is still in the air. We don’t know whether we will have Yondr Pockets, some other system, or even a system at all.
