Harvard College to ‘Experiment With’ Phone Pouches for Tech-Free Hangouts

Harvard College will supply phone pouches to encourage undergraduate students to participate in technology-free socialization, College Dean David J. Deming told incoming freshmen during 2026 Convocation exercises Tuesday afternoon.

In remarks to the Class of 2030, Deming encouraged students to spend more time with each other in person — and less time on their phones — adding that the College would test ways to create those opportunities.

“We’ll be experimenting with providing phone pouches and other voluntary commitment devices to allow for tech-free social spaces,” he said.

Deming did not clarify in his remarks how or when the pouches would be rolled out, and a College spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But the fact that they would be voluntary and utilized in primarily social contexts distinguishes the proposal from both the classroom phone bans that have been implemented in K-12 schools across the country and screen-free classroom policies adopted in some Harvard courses.

Several students told The Crimson they would be in favor of the option, as long as it does not become mandatory.

“I think our phones are a big distractor, especially when socializing,” Santiago Domenech Revilla ’30 said. “I think it’s a good idea.”

“I mean, as long as it’s voluntary,” he added.

One student compared the proposal to phone bans they experienced in high school.

“Texas recently had the phone ban at the start of last school year,” Christian Jaramillo ’30 said. “It was like a throwback in a bad way. But it’s voluntary, so I assume there’s no bad intent.”

Thirty-six states, including Texas, have passed policies either banning or restricting the use of phones in K-12 schools. But the policies are divisive among students, with roughly half of teens aged 13 to 17 opposing a ban, according to Pew Research Center.

Deming also pointed to an increase in the “number and quality” of events for first-year students; expanded after-dinner hours and food drops in Annenberg dining hall; and funding for faculty and staff to eat meals in student dining halls as examples of other initiatives by the College aimed at increasing students’ opportunities to connect with others.

The College first expanded open hours in Annenberg last spring semester during finals period. In remarks to peer advising fellows during a training session last week, Deming said that first-year students lacked dedicated places to gather on campus and that the expanded hours had been popular among first-year students.

“We’ll be extending after-dinner hours in Annenberg and peppering the random food drops in the evening, so you can make the dining hall — really all of Memorial Hall here — a space for studying and for socializing,” Deming said.

And he encouraged students to take advantage of those opportunities — even when they felt their “social battery” had run out.

“The next time you are tempted to stay in your room and stream video because your social battery is drained, go to that event, then notice how you feel after,” Deming said. “Almost always, you will come back feeling energized and happy again.”

Deming also encouraged students to meet with faculty and staff in person when possible.

“Take meetings with faculty, staff, and each other in person rather than on Zoom whenever possible,” he said. “Getting out of your room and into the Harvard community will increase your surface area for serendipity. It will also make you happy.”

Over the summer, the College instituted a five-day in-person office requirement for staff while spring and fall term classes for undergraduates are in session. The requirement proved contentious, with a number of top College leaders expressing strong opposition to the proposal before it went into effect.

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.

—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ser.85. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.