Would You Ever Pee on Your iPhone?: If Everyone Jumped
You would think if you peed on your iPhone it wouldn’t work anymore, right? Well, if the latest potential app comes to fruition, you may soon be able to stop worrying about accidentally getting urine on your mobile device (assuming you were actually worrying about that…). Plus, we will officially declare there is an app for every single thing on the planet.
Maybe some things shouldn't be replaced by technology
The Guardian reported this week that the U.K. Clinical Research Collaboration is in the process of developing a way for people to test themselves for sexually transmitted diseases using their mobile devices. If they are successful, users will be able to place their own urine or saliva on a small computer chip that plugs into the mobile device, which will then produce the test results.
According to the Guardian, the app is being produced with technology-savvy young people in mind – those that experts say may be too embarrassed to go to the doctor to be tested though their age group has the highest rate of STDs. The test is meant to be private and quick, much like a drug store pregnancy test, and to reduce the growing number of STDs, which have increased in frequency over the last decade in the U.K.
Appadvice points out that this news may mean one day doctor’s offices could be obsolete, or at least less frequently visited. If the average person can test themselves for an STD, who’s to say people won’t diagnose themselves and print out their prescriptions in the future?
We don’t see that happening until sometime very far into the future, and the app being developed does not seem to include a way for people to treat themselves in private as well. This could mean it will not actually reduce the rate of STDs. If someone is too embarrassed to see a doctor to be tested, they may be too embarrassed to be treated as well.
And now that we’ve discussed all the particulars can we take a minute to talk about how inserting your own urine or spit into your mobile phone is disgusting? We’re sure the creators will have some way to keep the process totally sterile and clean, but we’re not planning on sticking anything up against our cheeks and ears that has once housed our own pee. Trying to stop the growing rate of infection any way possible is a great idea and should be commended, but how about educating young people about STD prevention and coming up with ways to make them feel more comfortable talking to their doctors instead?
