Overheard a guy at the bus stop say something about emergency alerts that totally flipped my thinking

I was waiting for the 72 downtown yesterday and this older dude was talking to someone on the phone. He said 'people just ignore Amber Alerts cause they think it's spam, we need alerts that actually make you stop and look.' That hit me because I'm guilty of swiping away those notifications without reading them. It made me realize how desensitized I've gotten to important warnings just because they pop up so often. Anyone else tune out alerts without meaning to?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_susan26d ago

People actually swipe away Amber Alerts? That's terrifying.

foster.tessa26d ago

Fully guilty of this too and it makes me feel awful. The alerts pop up so much that my brain just treats them like a weather notification and moves on. I had to actually set a rule to stop and read every single one even if I think I know what it says.

john_fisher26d ago

Disagree completely. Look, I understand the sentiment but Amber Alerts are designed to be NOTICEABLE for a reason. If a kid is in danger and there's a car description that you might actually see, swiping away could literally cost a life. Yeah, they're annoying when you're driving or sleeping. I get it. But that's the PRICE of having a system that actually works. People who auto-swipe are basically saying "my convenience matters more than a missing child." Harsh, but that's the reality.

kimfisher26d ago

Did you try turning your ringer off at night, that fixed the sleeping issue for me?