Your Phone Could Tell You When You have had too much to Drink

The other night my girlfriend and I were having a conversation about how much cell phones have evolved.  From the unbreakable Nokia brick to the very desirable Motorola RAZR.  Now, I know that cell phones were in use/being developed in the mid-’70s but widespread use didn’t really come about until the late-90’s into the early-2000’s.  Right as our age group was growing up.  Everyone seemed to have a cell phone of some kind.

Today, it’s estimated that 96 percent of people have a cell phone.  More specifically a smartphone.  These things do everything. We can check email, Trump’s latest Twitter rant, and so much more.  What can’t we do with these things?  Well, can it tell you when you have had too much to drink?  In time, it just might.

A recent study conducted in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs looked at this next step in the evolution of the cell phone.  They tested 22 different adults, all over the age of 21 of course, by using certain sensors to track their movements after consuming a very strong alcoholic beverage.  How strong exactly?  Well, it gave the participants a blood alcohol concentration of 0.2 percent.  So, pretty darn strong.

After the participants finished their drink, they then had to walk 10 steps forward then 10 steps back.  They did for seven hours. (The walking part, not the drinking.  They only had the one drink) As the participants moved the sensors monitored their movements.  What researchers looked at the most was the change in how the participants walked.

The idea is to have these types of sensors in cell phones.  That way when you are out enjoying yourself, your phone can monitor your movements and let you know when you have had one too many.  It’s not a terrible idea.  It really could help stop a lot of people from getting behind the wheel.  Also, it could help prevent you from having too much in one night.  Who needs hangovers, right?