Drunk dialing refers to an
intoxicated person making
phone calls
A telephone call is a connection over a telephone network between the called party and the calling party.
First telephone call
The first telephone call was made on March 10, 1876, by Alexander Graham Bell. Bell demonstrated his ability to "ta ...
that they would not likely make if
sober
In cryptography, SOBER is a family of stream ciphers initially designed by Greg Rose of QUALCOMM Australia starting in 1997. The name is a contrived acronym for ''S''eventeen ''O''ctet ''B''yte ''E''nabled ''R''egister. Initially the cipher wa ...
, often a
lonely individual calling former or current love interests.
In
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
's 1969 novel ''Slaughterhouse-Five'', the main character describes his tendency to drunk dial:
In the 2004 film ''
Sideways
''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama road film directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymo ...
'', Miles Raymond (
Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...
) gets drunk and calls his ex-wife while at a restaurant. When he returns to the table, his friend Jack (
Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church (born Thomas Richard McMillen; June 17, 1960) is an American actor. After starring in the 1990s sitcom ''Wings'' and playing the lead for two seasons in ''Ned & Stacey'' (1995–1997)'','' Church became known for his film work, ...
) asks him, "Did you drink and dial?"
Drunk
texting, emailing, and editing internet sites are related phenomena, and potentially yet more embarrassing for the sender as, when the message is sent, it cannot be rescinded; the message may be misspelled (due to being drunk), and it might be reviewed and shared among many.
In media
The ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'',
[Mary Huhn, "Call it TUI - Texting Under the Influence: High-tech hangovers haunt gadget geeks," ''New York Post'', page 41, April 21, 2005] ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'',
[Carol E. Lee,]
The New Social Etiquette: Friends Don't Let Friends Dial Drunk
(opinion column), ''The New York Times'', January 30, 2005 and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', have all reported on drunk dialing. Cell phone manufacturers and carriers are helping callers prevent drunk dialing.
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile is a wireless communications brand used by seven independent brand-licensees worldwide. Virgin Mobile branded wireless communications services are available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Kuwait, Saudi Ara ...
has launched an option to help its users stop drunk dialing by initiating multi-hour bans on calling specific numbers
[Peter Rojas]
Virgin Mobile wants to help stop you from drunk dialing
Engadget.com, November 30, 2004 and the
LG Group
LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is ...
introduced the LP4100 mobile phone, which includes a
breathalyzer
A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of ''breath'' and ''analyzer/analyser'') is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC), or to detect viruses or diseases from a breath sample.
The name is a genericized trademark of the Br ...
.
[Brian Haverty]
If you drink, don't dial
CNet Australia Although the breathalyzer function was incorporated to help the user assess fitness to drive, rather than fitness to phone, the owner can program the LP4100 to restrict calls to specific telephone numbers on certain days or after a certain hour, a feature that might help limit drunk dialing by eliminating calls when the user is more likely to be intoxicated. This requires prior planning or awareness that one will become intoxicated at a later time. Some reports indicate that this phone, or a planned future version for U.S. release, would activate the call-blocking function in tandem with the
blood alcohol content
Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...
results from the breathalyzer.
[Keith Garvin]
New Cell Can Tell If You're Drunk: Already a Hit in Korea, LG Releases Cell Phone with Built-in Breathalyzer
ABC News, June 27, 2006[David Brand]
Firm aims to save drunk dialers from themselves
''The Daily Free Press'', Boston University, October 12, 2006
A mobile app
Drunk Mode was launched in April 2013. Drunk Mode prevents users from calling or sending messages to specific contacts for up to 12 hours. A reported feature also sets notifications every 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes to remind users not to engage in certain “drunk behaviors.”
References
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Drinking culture
Mobile phone culture
Error
Telephony
Interpersonal relationships