by Teresa Krug
Iowa State Daily (Iowa State U.)
(U-WIRE) AMES, Iowa - A brand new feature on Virgin Mobile cell phones will decrease late-night drunken phone calls in Australia, and although the service is not offered in the United States, it could make its way here depending on its success Down Under.
In an effort to cut down on calls under the influence, the Australian branch of Virgin Mobile has installed a new feature that prevents callers from contacting certain people.
For a flat fee, people type in a particular code followed by the numbers they do not want to call.
Ben Raveling, Iowa State University student, said the idea is a good one, but he would not pay extra to have the service.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"Drunk dialing is fun," Raveling said. "Once you get that liquid courage, you're more likely to voice your opinion if someone pissed you off earlier."
The phone will not allow those numbers to be called until 6 a.m. the next morning.
Sarah Koenig, Virgin Mobile spokeswoman, said not to expect the new feature to be on American phones any time soon.
"We're definitely considering it, but right now we don't have a definite timeline," Koenig said.
Brandon Funk, customer service wireless representative for Best Buy, said he has not found much information on the topic and does not know if or when the new feature will be extended to phones in the United States.
"I would imagine that they will start adding that feature depending on its success," Funk said.
Virgin Mobile hopes this new service will cut down on incoherent calls to ex-partners, current partners or bosses.
Maggie Schutte, Iowa State University student, agreed it would be a smart service to have, especially because many people regret drunken dialing. She said oftentimes "people ask their friends not to let them call a certain person."
In a recent survey done by the company, 95 percent of the more than 400 people interviewed said they made phone calls after drinking.
More than half said they made up to three phone calls per night.
The report showed that 30 percent of calls were made to ex-partners, and 19 percent were made to current partners.
The report also showed that the morning after a night of drinking, more people first reach for their cell phone to see who they dialed - 55 percent, then reach for painkillers - 8 percent.
Joe Campos, Iowa State University student, said it's a good idea for people who don't have enough self-control, but he would personally never use it.
"If they don't have enough control to take that person's name out of their phone, then maybe this idea will help them to stop calling that person and harassing them," Campos said. "I wouldn't, because my drunk dials are funny, not harmful."
