In the fast pace and tricky life of college, one can never be too careful, and sometimes even taking every precaution–locking all doors, paying attention to your drink…is still not enough to fend off a clever predator. College can be an especially tempting playground for predators, with Tallahassee alone having an above average crime rate–the most popular being aggravated assault. I’m sure you’ve opened Outlook on a few occasions to find a myriad of emails warning you to stay out of a certain areas due to crime. Campuses can be especially dangerous for women with 23% of undergraduate college females having experienced rape or sexual violence; that’s 1 in 5. Apple recently released a new software update with a safety feature that could come in handy. Luckily, we can add this new iOS feature to our list of precautious measures to help prevent becoming a victim.
Apple released the new iPhone X design this month showcasing every iPhone lover’s dream: a sleek design, the shiny bitten Apple logo, and camera quality sure to capture all of Instagram’s attention. Part of the software design includes this new feature, the Emergency SOS Alert call. This feature allows the user to call emergency services by simply clicking the lock button on their phones five times quickly. This feature also lets you select emergency contacts to send an automatic message once the SOS feature has been activated. The message sent to your emergency contacts will include your current location and a note explaining that the emergency feature has been activated and emergency services are en route.
These features can be activated on a device with iOS 11 by going to the Settings app, scrolling to the Emergency SOS tab, then sliding on the tab that reads “Auto Call.” Underneath should be all emergency contacts. If there are none, you can edit the emergency contacts in the Health app. With this feature enabled, your iPhone will call 911 after a three second wait to allow time for cancellation in case of a mistake.
This new iPhone feature has the potential to save lives. In a dire situation it can be difficult to call and speak to emergency services, so having a way to directly contact them can keep many college students safe. Having your parents as your emergency contact can also provide them peace of mind, ensuring they will know where you are in case of trouble. While having this feature turned on your iPhone can help prevent an instance of rape or assault, the only true preventative measure towards rape is the prevention of rapists. But making sure to count your drinks when you go out, always walking with a buddy, having pepper spray handy, and keeping your phone charged in case of emergency certainly can help. Always keep an open eye and watch how the people around you are acting, don’t be afraid to ask the drunk girl if she is okay, or to offer her a ride home. A few minutes of your empathy can save a person from becoming a statistic. And a few touches on your phone can help you from becoming a statistic as well.