Virgin Mobile has deployed a new service to its wireless customers: “dialing under the influence prevention.” Seriously.
A recent survey by the company of more than 400 people found that 95 percent made phone calls after a drinking session, with 30 percent of calls going to exes and 19 percent to current partners.
The survey also found that the morning after more people will first reach for their mobile phone to check who they had dialled (55%) instead of reaching for painkillers (8%).
With Virgin’s new service, you can simply dial a prefix, and then the number you don’t wish to call while drunk, and that number will be blacklisted until 6am — by which time you ought to have been long since passed out.
The prevention, of course, is only effective in the case that you know you are going to get drunk, and you actually expect yourself to drunkenly call your ex for a late-night booty call.
001 // Brian Ford // 11.30.2004 // 11:23 AM
What if, when I’m drunk and trying to dial my ex for a late night booty call, I get so pissed off that I -can’t- call my ex and either a) throw my phone in disgust or b) wreck my car while trying to figure out how to make my phone dial the number I told it NOT to dial. (Lets not try and figure out why I’m driving in the first place.)
Also, this will probably just lead people to drive TO the residence of their ex, and loudly demand entry via some sort of “Say Anything” throwback… probably pissing both her AND the guy she’s ACTUALLY sleeping with off.
Oh, and maybe future Virgin phones can have one of those “personal breathalizers” built in. If you pass the breathalizer, you can dial whoever you want. If you fail, the phone shuts down.
And while we’re at it, if these are Virgin Phones, the sad-sacks haven’t ever had sex in the first place, so they don’t have anyone to call for booty -anyway-.
002 // Jennifer // 11.30.2004 // 5:44 PM
I had no idea drunk dialing was such a problem- very interesting
003 // Joe // 12.04.2004 // 6:22 AM
This would be great for a girl I know named Allie.