Yondr: Curators of Phone-Free Spaces


(image via overyondr.com)

Cell phones have literally changed the way we experience life. The upside to it, we all have access to our family and friends, apps that make life easier, and the World Wide Web right in the palm of our hands. The downside, we have become so dependent on our phones, that we have started to lack in the face-to-face human interaction area, and just simply being able to fully invest in moments while they are occurring. For most of us, everywhere we go is documented, we are either snapchatting, instagraming, tweeting, or updating our Facebook statuses. We are now creating moments to upload, rather than allowing moments to naturally unfold. We aren't allowing ourselves to be present in real time to soak it all in, without a filter or device blocking our direct connection to the moment.

Yondr is a new company that offers an old but new experience for this age of constant technological advancements. Yondr dedicates its entire propose to providing venues that accommodate phone-free spaces. Many celebrities such as Alicia Keys and Chris Rock have already jumped aboard this train. Especially Alicia Keys, she has strict rules that enforce phone-free experiences during her live performances.

So how does this “Yondr experience” work? First, you are provided Yondr cases for your phones when entering any Yondr curated event. Once you enter the phone-free zone, your case will lock with your phone inside. You will be able to keep your phone while it’s inside of the case with you. And if for any reason you may need to use your phone during the event, you can simply walk outside of the phone-free zone and your case will unlock. Sounds pretty cool right?

What does this mean for future parties, concerts, and other general events? Well maybe just maybe, we will be able to go back to capturing moments with our memory. Maybe we will be able to go back to being present with our loved ones and fully engulfed in our experiences without the use of our cell phones. What Yondr is giving us, is something we have forgotten. It’s giving us a part of our humanity back. It will be interesting to see how this company expands. You can check out their website here: http://overyondr.com/  to learn more.

In the meantime, put your phones down and be present in the moments.

-Chandra Meadows for POP ATL