The second semester at Abington Friends School is in full swing, and so is the second semester of an AFS with Yondr pouches. Yondr pouches are one of the biggest changes in school policy in recent time, and it comes as teens spend an average of nearly seven and a half hours a day on screens, according to Exploding Topics, with almost five hours of that time being spent on social media.
“I think [the Yondr implementation is] going well, especially in comparison to what I’ve heard from other schools who have also participated in the rollout and the implementation of [Yondr],” said Upper School Director Brendon Jobs. He continued, saying that one of the biggest concerns he heard was that students would be disoriented, not knowing their schedules, time, or special schedules. Jobs said these worries have not seemed like a big issue to him.
“People have found other means of doing the things that they thought they could only do on phones… There hasn’t been this mad rush of confusion around, where do I need to be, and when do I need to be there?”
“I think students are finding other ways to connect and socialize, which I think is probably one of the bigger changes,” said Assistant Upper School Director Tina Yen.
On the subject of students evading the phone ban, Yen said, “There have been students who haven’t been following the Yondr pouch…rules. I think… that’s the minority of students, and I trust that most of the students are doing what they’re supposed to be doing, in terms of the Yondr guidelines.”
Students, however, are in stark contrast to the administrative position. “I don’t think it’s very helpful,” said Jahz Gray ‘28.
“Anything I want to do on my phone, I can just [use] my computer. It doesn’t actually stop me from [using] technology.”
Zach Holloman ‘29 had a similar sentiment, saying, “Get rid of the Yondr pouches, they aren’t doing anything.”
Casio Ballod ‘29 took a different approach, saying, “I think that this school is supposed to be like a preparatory type thing. You’re supposed to be preparing for your life, and our lives are going to be full of phones.”
Despite the opposition, students interviewed all agreed, as said by Holloman, “Yondr pouches are getting people more involved,” when referring to student activities such as clubs.
Jobs referenced Winterfest, saying “ …people were… paying attention, and acting cringey in some respects, without having that awareness that somebody might be recording.”
With no change in phone policy for the foreseeable future, the AFS community will continue to adjust to a new, phone-free AFS.
