While Dry July is often a time to take a look at how often we visit the bottle, a new app has come out encouraging Aussies to change drinking habits with little prompts and challenges.
Recently launched, the app is an initiative pushed out by the government and the Vodafone Foundation, with what the duo claims is a “world first” to help people skip hangovers altogether and spend their time in a less headache-induced and cranky state.
It’s called “Hello Sunday Morning” and starts with a series of questions designed to get you reflecting on your drinking, find out how much danger your drinking habits will put you in health wise, and then offers challenges to help you take a break from the bottle and become more aware of what you imbibe.
“We want to build a world where drinking is a choice, not an expectation. Where we question the role of alcohol in our lives and where we have fewer hangovers and more Sunday mornings,” said Chris Rain, Founder of Hello Sunday Morning.
“We hope our app replaces that unnecessary extra drink in a lot of people’s hands and encourages Aussies to re-embrace their Sundays, however that might be.”
According to some research that led to this app, three in four Australians believe that Australia as a whole might have a drinking problem, with the “Hello Sunday Morning” programme — not the app, the programme itself — helping over 45,000 people since the online idea started in 2010.
“The new smartphone app will build on this early success by appealing to tech-savvy Australians who are already using their mobiles to monitor and improve their health,” said Senator Fiona Nash, Assistant Minister for Health.
“The Australian Government has invested $1.1 million to support the expansion. This will also fund an alcohol intervention pilot project that will examine how the Hello Sunday Morning online tool can support patients and GPs in a clinical setting.”
Currently, the app is an iOS only affair, but is available for free. We’re told other platforms should be coming in the future, but there is currently no release date as to when that will be happening.
