A way to decrease screen time…?

Hannah Gadsby is not one to shy away from challenging her audience’s beliefs, and now the comedian will also be challenging their phone use.

Gadsby is one of a growing number of performers to turn to a new technology which provides a simple solution — locking the phones away.

“I have autism and the use of phones during a show is a very distressing distraction for me when I’m performing,” Gadsby recently tweeted, before the launch of her new show Douglas.

However, the phones themselves are not confiscated.

Instead, they are set on silent or aeroplane mode and then secured in pouches which are electronically locked before the shows begin.

Audience members are able to hold onto them, and unlock them in designated areas if they need to.

“It allows the phone owner to keep their phone while not actually being able to access it,” said Monash University media expert Brett Hutchins.

“It’s really something designed to ensure people can’t take footage or distract others.”

Key points:

• Hannah Gadsby’s audiences will be asked to lock their phones in pouches
• The approach pioneered by a US company is proving popular
• It has been rolled out in hundreds of schools globally

The technology has been pioneered by US company Yondr and is also proving popular with musicians.

Guns N’ Roses has also adopted it at gigs, as well as Alicia Keys — who helped bring it to prominence in 2016.

“Hannah’s team did an incredible job of sending out messaging so most patrons know exactly what they’re coming to,” Yondr spokeswoman Alexis Munnelly said.

“There was very little push back.

“We’re looking to give people space away from their technology.”