I will keep mine turned on and I am also in Florida. That being said if there was a way to change the notification to something less loud that would be great. I gotta wake up early as fuck to go to work and the adrenaline burst I get from that thing waking me up makes it hard to go back to sleep.
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Thinking about turning off Amber Alerts
- Thread starter breakfuss
- Start date
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HUELEN10
Member
In the future, always format the phone before using it, if anything just for the sake of performance and privacy.
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
That's what your'e saying if being critical of those who turn them off makes you high and mighty.
lunchtoast
Member
I just checked my settings. I have it turned on, but the alert sound/voice/vibrate is off. The only few times I've gotten them was around bedtime.
IceBringer
Banned
It would be George. Definitely George.
Littlefang
Member
We don't have a mandatory Amber Alert cell system in Canada, but the system definitely sounds like it needs more options in order for more people to utilize it. I'd get annoyed with any system that bypasses the do not disturb setting. And the fact that the only way to lower the sound is to turn the notification off completely is really a poor solution. I can definitely understand why people turn it off since getting a lot of notifications at night when you can't do anything about it would be incredibly frustrating.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Or Kramer. AIDS ribbon all over again.
perfectchaos007
Member
The loud jarring noise of a cell amber alert forces you to either A. check the message to turn it off while driving. or B. let the screeching sound continue to go off while you try to concentrate on driving.
Could lead to more problems than it solves.
Mad Season
Banned
why? it RARELY happens and it could save a life. You never know
Eye for an Eye
Member
Older phones do not have it. It didn't become mandatory until like 2013/14 for phones to have on it. Although all new phones do have it now, smart phones and old style flip phones.
Weather alerts and amber alerts can be turned off. Presidential alerts can not be. Weather alerts are usually the ones people hate if they live in a region with lots of weather activity and the inaccuracy of location for the alerts.
Zen_Arcade
Banned
If it did you think you'd hear about it.
creationtheory
Member
I was thinking about never watching the national news again because they are always talking about shit that doesn't apply to me.
old manatee
Banned
I'm sorry for yelling, but I want you to all know that Mr. Rogers is disappointed in you.
HUELEN10
Member
No he wouldn't be.
"There's no 'should' or 'should not' when it comes to having feelings. They're part of who we are and their origins are beyond our control. When we can believe that, we may find it easier to make constructive choices about what to do with those feelings."
Guess what those feelings are telling me? They are telling me that kids getting kidnapped sucks, and if we want to help more of them without putting drivers at risk, we MUST be critical enough and not wishy washy to be able to talk about these things to come up with something better.
Per year, probably not many. Each state has less than 9 recorded alerts for 2014. California, Texas and Ohio are the only states in the double digits. Everything else is pretty low, Texas is pretty awful though at 33 and CA at 21.
Jeronimo Jones
Member
Amber Alerts went off on my phone twice in a 3 day period last week. Once audibly before noon while at my desk at work, once audibly when I was in for the night a couple days later. I don't know if I've ever been out when I received one.
There is a temptation to turn them off because that would have been disruptive in a work meeting or startling overnight while sleeping. Guilt plays a part too, but I was able to change the setting to vibrate only, which is an ok compromise.
There is a temptation to turn them off because that would have been disruptive in a work meeting or startling overnight while sleeping. Guilt plays a part too, but I was able to change the setting to vibrate only, which is an ok compromise.
None. Unless you turned it off it means your area is (most likely) safe for children (in terms of being abducted).
Also TIL keep kids far away from Florida.
...Actually just keep everyone away from Florida in general.
It's very much the AIDS ribbon. "Even though this thing I'm doing has little-to-no effect on an important situation, I think you're a monster for not doing it."
I probably would have kept getting the alerts if they were less intrusive and subject to normal sound/volume restrictions I have on my phone. Apparently they killed the SMS update program in 2012, though.
Yeah, I'm in Texas :/
BreezyLimbo
Banned
I've only gotten like 1 in the 2 years since I've had my phone.
Maybe my phones broken.
Eye for an Eye
Member
Just because one child is found, why can't they work on improving the system? Why can't they change the alert sound? Why can't "do not disturb" override the setting? Why can't the uers control how and when they receive the message?
Maybe if people had more control over it, more would be willing to participate in it? There are so many social media alerts that spread the word quickly and effectively, why can't Amber Alerts be issued the same way?
Florida actually ranks pretty low on the Amber Alert data.
The giant ass PDF says they also don't spread across the entire state every time. So likely it could be too far from you or something.
djplaeskool
Member
I will continue to be able to spare a moment for an abducted child.
shanafan
Member
Ha, same here. It happened at like 1 AM, and had no idea what was going on.
Glad to see it happening though. Never know when you might see something that you wouldn't have thought twice about. Also, I don't think the distance should matter because if someone did kidnap someone, they won't be staying around the area. They would more than likely drive further away.
BreezyLimbo
Banned
I live in SoCal so I just assume nobody gets kidnapped down here
bananafactory
Banned
I see them go out on Twitter but have never had a notification pushed to my phone. I'm on Android - do I have to do something to enable them?
shanafan
Member
Completely agree.
If that was your child, you would be even MORE thankful for the system.
Well thats good news!
...still not going near florida tho.
Also is the relatively low amount of Amber alerts across our country from a lack of alerts or we just aren' stealing as many children?
old manatee
Banned
Funny thing is when I read the title I thought, "this dude is probably from Florida".
Dad's phone went off a couple time the past few days.
Shit sounded like North Korea was nuking us.
Probably a good thing I never get any since being from Florida I'd probably get them all the time like OP.
[edit]
I never turned it off but I did buy my phone from a family member so maybe they turned it off? I dunno.
There's a breakdown of alerts per year on the site and the like if you want to take a look at previous data. It's pretty thorough but doesn't really look like it goes per state. Also Amber alert apparently resulted in international recoveries now that I read through it, kids being found in Mexico, Canada or Cuba.
Easy solution: turning off amber alerts should result in a $1 fine per alert blocked (capped at $10/yr or something). Proceeds go to orphanages or some other child-saving cause. I'd happy to pay for the convenience, and I'm sure the money is worth more than the negligible chance of me saving a kid.
Or how 'bout this: I'll go buy five lottery tickets. If I win, I'll give half the money to starving kids and/or malaria nets in Africa. This act has a higher expectation of child-saving than my keeping alerts on, and thus win or lose it more than makes up for my choice to keep alerts off.
If you want to help children, there are a million ways you can do it for realz, yet you (yes you!) are choosing not to. Ergo, you're a monster, and your mother and I are very disappointed in you.
Or how 'bout this: I'll go buy five lottery tickets. If I win, I'll give half the money to starving kids and/or malaria nets in Africa. This act has a higher expectation of child-saving than my keeping alerts on, and thus win or lose it more than makes up for my choice to keep alerts off.
If you want to help children, there are a million ways you can do it for realz, yet you (yes you!) are choosing not to. Ergo, you're a monster, and your mother and I are very disappointed in you.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
So wait, you're not leaving the thread after saying "fuck this conversation" and telling people they could justify it however they like after calling them cancerous and screaming at me in all caps?
Uh wow...
I think a lot of people are misunderstanding the purpose of AMBER alert.
Cause it sound like some of your believe you have to memorize the AMBER alert message and go out and hunt for the car...
Umm...the hell...no one is telling you to do that...
All you need to do when an AMBER alert shows up is to take a look the message, check your surrounding, if you happen to see the car then alert the authority. If you don't, carry on with your day. You don't need to memorize anything. No one is asking you to be batman or a hero.
If an amber alert shows up when you're driving and it's not safe for you to take a look, then don't.
If an amber alert shows up when you're indoor, then ignore it.
But who's to say you're always going to be driving or indoor when amber alert goes off. It's not like amber alert are restricted to a certain time of the day.
Sure there might be situation when you might need the phone to be silent. That's cool, turn it off and then turn it back on later on. However, for people that are turning off amber alert, something is telling me you guys have no intention of turning it back on.
Yes, a lot of you are like...I've never done anything with amber alert...thus it's useless and ineffective to me. Yes the probability of you spotting the car might be extremely low...but this is never supposed to be a high probability. All I know is that with it off and no mean for you to get an amber alert, that's probability is essentially zero. People that are using statistic to gauge the effectiveness of the system is twisted. Because of the chance of me doing something with this is low, lets not do it all....line of thinking is twisted.
It's sad really.
I think a lot of people are misunderstanding the purpose of AMBER alert.
Cause it sound like some of your believe you have to memorize the AMBER alert message and go out and hunt for the car...
Umm...the hell...no one is telling you to do that...
All you need to do when an AMBER alert shows up is to take a look the message, check your surrounding, if you happen to see the car then alert the authority. If you don't, carry on with your day. You don't need to memorize anything. No one is asking you to be batman or a hero.
If an amber alert shows up when you're driving and it's not safe for you to take a look, then don't.
If an amber alert shows up when you're indoor, then ignore it.
But who's to say you're always going to be driving or indoor when amber alert goes off. It's not like amber alert are restricted to a certain time of the day.
Sure there might be situation when you might need the phone to be silent. That's cool, turn it off and then turn it back on later on. However, for people that are turning off amber alert, something is telling me you guys have no intention of turning it back on.
Yes, a lot of you are like...I've never done anything with amber alert...thus it's useless and ineffective to me. Yes the probability of you spotting the car might be extremely low...but this is never supposed to be a high probability. All I know is that with it off and no mean for you to get an amber alert, that's probability is essentially zero. People that are using statistic to gauge the effectiveness of the system is twisted. Because of the chance of me doing something with this is low, lets not do it all....line of thinking is twisted.
It's sad really.
Marty Chinn
Member
Is this a regional thing where they go off in the middle of the night? All amber alerts I've ever had have always been in the daytime.
old manatee
Banned
breakfuss
Member
I honestly can't tell what this is. Funny nonetheless.
And to clarify, I got THREE this weekend. THREE jarring ass alerts. I don't know if there were just more candy-filled white vans roaming about South Florida or what. Still undecided but for now they'll remain on, I guess.
would be perfect for curb
have suzy lay into larry about it so much that he turns the alerts on
then later in the episode larry will be somewhere like a funeral or symphony concert or something and his amber alert will go off and piss off everyone around him
The PDF says they try to get them to go off as soon as possible, so roughly around when the kid was taken.
HUELEN10
Member
...please stop. Obviously we all have opinions on the matter, but there is no reason to be like that and dismiss the opinions of others merely because they raise different points than you.
Specially when, and I think it is safe to say this, no one in this thread is against helping kids in need.
Dylan Sexbang
Banned
When I first got an amber alert on my first phone I thought it was the end of the world, and this was the alarm affirming mutually assured destruction.
Marty Chinn
Member
Is that for phones or just the alert in general? It feels like the phone alerts are always delayed in relation to the actual alert.
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