Phoebe Bridgers kicked off her 2026 arena tour, The Lost Tour, on Sept. 14. She made the viral decision to ban phones and other electronic devices for the duration of her shows. In a world where our lives revolve around technology, tech-free spaces are crucial to intentional human connection.
Bridgers is not the first artist to implement phone regulation at their shows: Alicia Keys, Jack White and Bob Dylan are a few others who have opted for a phone-free concert experience. There is a growing realization that our reliance on phones needs to be broken, even if only briefly. This sentiment has become prevalent not only in creative spaces, but also in learning environments.
In 2023, Florida was the first state to pass a law regulating cellphone use in K-12 classrooms. As of 2025, over half of the states have passed their own phone regulation laws. In the others, state governments are only encouraging school districts to adopt some sort of policy, rather than forcing them to implement any formal state legislation.
While there are no formal phone regulation rules in U.S. colleges and universities, professors can choose to have tech-free classrooms. At American University, some professors will specify their preference for paper note-taking, while some others will require phones to be put away but allow computer use. Some will prohibit any technology altogether.
Our initial reaction to a tech-free space is usually negative, evident in certain online reactions to Bridgers’ no-phone policy. Because we use technology for everything, abandoning it for even a short period of time feels foreign and uncomfortable. But tech-free spaces help make stronger connections with the people around us, and in educational spaces, improve our capacity to learn.
Teens who experienced their first school year under phone regulations proved that enduring learning spaces without phones isn’t as catastrophic as we think. In October 2025, 48 percent of teens claimed their school’s phone rules made them unhappy, while in May 2026, only 27 percent maintained that sentiment.
On Sept. 29, I attended Bridgers’ The Lost Tour at Capital One Arena here in D.C. As attendees were queuing up to enter the arena, there was the bustle of excitement you would see at any concert. After everyone’s phones were locked up in Yondr pouches, that excitement remained.
During the show, I witnessed people sketching the set design in their notebooks, laughing with their friends and dancing in the pit. As my friend and I waited for the show to start, we talked nonstop for over an hour. Everyone was 100 percent in the moment for the entirety of the show; it didn’t matter that we didn’t have our phones.
Even after the concert was over and we retrieved our phones, I was too busy debriefing with my friends to bother looking at it.
Our addiction to our phones is no new phenomenon. Everyday, you see people walking across campus, waiting for the metro and even sitting with their friends on their phones. What is relatively new is the phone bans and regulations that require us to put them down. As much as we say we’ll put away our technology while studying or at the dinner table, it is very hard to follow through on willpower alone.
Forced tech-free spaces can be tricky, though. We are often resistant to accepting change — especially when being told what to do. When you walk into the first day of class and your professor announces it is a tech-free class, your initial reaction may be negative or skeptical.
Yet, this is exactly why we need these spaces. While they may not be well-received at first, over time, we will adapt.
There is no future in which technology isn’t the center of our world. If anything, it is going to become even more prevalent. But when you do find yourself in a forced tech-free space — like a class — embrace it. Maybe you’ll discover you prefer taking notes on paper, or you’ll continue talking to your neighbor after you finish responding to the prompt.
And in personal spheres, seek to create deliberate no phone zones. Plan a phone-free craft or movie night with your friends. Lean into the life you can lead outside of the pressure to capture every moment.
At the very least, you’ll feel neutral about it. Likely, you’ll be encouraged to engage in more tech-free time. There’s nothing to lose.
Siobhan Stubbe is a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs and a columnist for The Eagle.
This article was edited by Ava DiGiacomo, Harry Walton and Gabrielle McNamee. Copy editing by Avery Grossman, Mattie Lupo, Nicole Kariuki and Jaden Maitland Anderson. Fact-checking by Josie Burnette.
