5 ms·

you can turn that off, you know...

codeddesign 10y ago
But why would you? I know of incidents just this year that a child was saved because of amber alerts. It's put out for the same reason that people on here are arguing for "if your surrounding community were more aware or had a personal interest in each other, these situations would not happen"
- slededit 10y ago
  Because it doesn't respect the silent setting on my cell phone. Its unlikely the missing child is in the vicinity of the meeting I just interrupted.
  - swiley 10y ago
    I couldn't remember why I turned it off and now I do.
- Dylan16807 10y ago
  When you say 'saved', are you talking about cases that were not custody disputes?
  - __david__ 10y ago
    That's what finally got me to start ignoring them—seeing that practically every one was a child "kidnapped" by their parent. Kidnapping by strangers is much more rare, and conflating the two (the way amber alerts do) is a mistake.
    - grkvlt 10y ago
      Although, it is statistically much more likely for a child to be killed by a parent or relative than by a stranger... In fact 60-80% of UK murders of under-16s are cases where the victim knew the killer. [1] [1] http://straightstatistics.fullfact.org/article/how-many-children-are-murdered-britain-every-year http://straightstatistics.fullfact.org/article/how-many-chil...
      - Dylan16807 10y ago
        That doesn't require kidnapping, though. I don't know if it correlates at all.
jdavis703 10y ago
The only times I got these alerts was when I'm asleep. I have no idea how I could be of help to a search party while still groggy. So off they go.
11thEarlOfMar 10y ago
Yeah, it's kind of the whole point of the article. I think, "What are the odds that I am the guy who sees the car in the description and remembers the license plate number and calls the police and the child is saved." Then I think, "But if it were my child, I'd want every smart phone on the planet turned on." So I leave it on and endure the anxiety, and keep my eyes open, even though I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be that guy.
dominotw 10y ago
without moral guilt?

But why would you? I know of incidents just this year that a child was saved because of amber alerts. It's put out for the same reason that people on here are arguing for "if your surrounding community were more aware or had a personal interest in each other, these situations would not happen"

slededit 10y ago
Because it doesn't respect the silent setting on my cell phone. Its unlikely the missing child is in the vicinity of the meeting I just interrupted.
- swiley 10y ago
  I couldn't remember why I turned it off and now I do.
Dylan16807 10y ago
When you say 'saved', are you talking about cases that were not custody disputes?
- __david__ 10y ago
  That's what finally got me to start ignoring them—seeing that practically every one was a child "kidnapped" by their parent. Kidnapping by strangers is much more rare, and conflating the two (the way amber alerts do) is a mistake.
  - grkvlt 10y ago
    Although, it is statistically much more likely for a child to be killed by a parent or relative than by a stranger... In fact 60-80% of UK murders of under-16s are cases where the victim knew the killer. [1] [1] http://straightstatistics.fullfact.org/article/how-many-children-are-murdered-britain-every-year http://straightstatistics.fullfact.org/article/how-many-chil...
    - Dylan16807 10y ago
      That doesn't require kidnapping, though. I don't know if it correlates at all.

jdavis703 10y ago

The only times I got these alerts was when I'm asleep. I have no idea how I could be of help to a search party while still groggy. So off they go.

11thEarlOfMar 10y ago

Yeah, it's kind of the whole point of the article. I think, "What are the odds that I am the guy who sees the car in the description and remembers the license plate number and calls the police and the child is saved." Then I think, "But if it were my child, I'd want every smart phone on the planet turned on." So I leave it on and endure the anxiety, and keep my eyes open, even though I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be that guy.

dominotw 10y ago

without moral guilt?