Yondr pouches at concerts are not the future

Yondr pouches at concerts are not the future

You wait in line all day, and finally, the doors are opened. You get shoved through the metal detectors, make your way through the bag check and finally, your phone is locked into a small fabric pouch. You sit around and wait for the show to begin, completely contactless from the outside world.

This scenario is becoming a reality now at various occasions due to the Yondr pouch. Schools, courts, hospitals, concerts, and comedy shows everywhere are starting to take advantage of this new piece of technology. When one enters the venue, their phone is taken, put into a small pouch where they are unassessable and locked, and then given back to the user. The pouch remains locked until either the attendee exits the venue or they enter a designated phone area where employees can unlock phones and supervise users.

Locking phones at concerts is one of the worst ideas in regards to safety I have heard in a long time. The idea that locking phones at concerts can solve problems is ridiculous, especially considering the problems that locking phones create.

Personally, why would you want to lock phones away at concerts? I understand it can be frustrating to the performer to look into the audience and just see a sea of screens, but what other damage does a phone really cause?

Honestly, phones do so much for the up and coming artist at events. People take pictures at an event and post them all over the internet giving bands free publicity. Social media plays such a large part in the music scene today and phones at concerts help the upcoming artist grow. People see posts from a live show and can become interested in that band from a simple video.

I do understand phones being in Yondr pouches in court, at comedy shows, or during Broadway shows. Banning phones provide protection for the artist allowing them to profit from their hard work. Relating to protection, phones at concerts provide safety for all concert goers.

This may be dramatic, but truthfully, phones have literally saved lives at concerts. Manchester. Vegas. Paris.

Concerts may appear to be a safe place, but from these tragedies, we’ve learned that quite easily people take advantage of the large crowds to inflict damage. Speaking from experience, my mom gets nervous about me even driving. When I drive somewhere busy or a far distance, she wants to know when I get there to make sure I’m safe. On top of that, my parents rightfully want to know how much later until I’ll be home. If someone were to prevent access to my phones at concerts, my parents would get nervous not knowing if I made it there safe. I would be nervous if I couldn’t contact my parents or emergency services.

A lot can happen at a concert. Concerts have been places of attack, but every day you hear stories about people getting trampled, people having a seizure because of the lights, or someone could be making you feel uncomfortable and unsafe. I’ve been to so many concerts, and I’ve seen all of this happen. By depriving me of my phone during one of these events, I automatically lose that element of security and safety I crave during these stressful times.

Additionally, I’ve lost my friends at concerts a countless number of times. Mosh pits happen, crowds push, and people get separated. I’ve been able to locate my friends easily and quickly because we were allowed to use our phones. Had we not been able to use our phones, who knows what would have happened.

This may be dramatic, but truthfully, phones have literally saved lives at concerts.

On top that, concerts are just music. Why is the artist so hurt about their live songs being in video form? People who want to take videos at concerts do it to have the memories documented for later. It’s not just about the music, it’s about being able to relive the moment when you watch the videos down the road. If it was just about the music, people would just listen to the albums. People want to remember the magical night of seeing one of their favorite artists live, and they will never have that exact experience again.

Watching concert videos on YouTube doesn’t necessarily discourage fans from buying tickets because each show is different. In the case of Broadway musicals and comedy shows, things are the same every time. Same jokes, same sets, same choreography, same costumes and more. So for those events, I understand the banning of phones. However, I do not see a problem with videotaping a band and showing your friends.

All things considered, I believe that locking phones into little pouches at concerts does more harm than good. It may be easier for the artist to perform, but they must think about the risks in regard to the common audience member. An artist choosing to ban phones makes a selfish decision that puts themselves above the audience member. At certain events, yes I believe Yondr pouches are appropriate and sometimes necessary. But at concerts, I think it’s just an additional unnecessary step for venues and artists to make.