“Just Google it” and “Ask Siri” are common responses amongst young people in particular. That’s the society we live in: we ask our phone to do stuff for us.
But did you ever think your phone could tell you how hung over you’d be the next morning?
“There’s an app for that.”
Breathometer surfaced recently and has been relatively well-received. By connecting the device through the headphone port of your smartphone and launching the application, we’re told you can instantly know just how drunk you are.
The app displays interactive instructions as to when to blow into add-on accessory, which allegedly serves as a mock breathalyzer used by police officers. Depending on the person’s blood alcohol level, the app will relay messages like “Looks like you’re good to go” and “You’re likely displaying signs of impairment. Be cautious!” Once the numbers hit a certain point, a “get home safe” button appears. This leads you to a couple of options: call an Uber driver, call a cab or call a friend to take you home. There’s also a “stay nearby” option that allows you to search for local dining and hotels.
The app even estimates when you should be “back to zero,” which is essentially when the alcohol in your system fully metabolizes.
An invention like this is pretty savvy at a glance, but when you really consider how useful it could be, it starts sounds like one of those revolutionary ideas. Young adults generally like technology, young adults of age generally like to drink.
If these people use the device or other imitations, the number of impaired drivers on the road could potentially be reduced. The Breathometer app consistently reminds users to never drink and drive, and to avoid doing certain things if intoxication levels are too high.
A few low-key experiments have resulted in unsupportive evidence of the device’s accuracy. One test showed the difference between a police officer’s breathalyzer data and mobile breathalyzer data. The numbers were all over the board. At first, this was kind of disappointing, because it’s marketed in such a way that makes it seem ground-breaking. However, companies that manufacture these kinds of products insist that the only reason it may not be completely accurate is because the individual is blowing into the device incorrectly.
I do also think drunk people have a somewhat harder time using a cellphone than somebody who hasn’t had anything to drink # and if they can’t navigate the app, then what good does it do?
These faults aside, I think it’s pretty incredible that we are capable of such technology. If everybody who bought Breathometer was given a clear tutorial instructing them how to use it, the invention would serve its purpose and truly make drinking safer.
Plus, using an app like this would help people to maintain healthier drinking habits by getting people to regulate their alcohol intake # maybe even reevaluate their lives if it turns out their “Activity” portion of the app is full of elevated numbers.
Information gathered from http://store.breathometer.com/products/breathometer and today.com.
