This bloody emergency alert

[Random789]

It's going to be like when they test the fire alarm at work, isn't it?
You get more and more tense waiting for it, then three minutes before it is due to go off you forget all about it. Then it does go off and you scream like a lunatic and jump so hard that you dislocate something in your neck.

I'd rather just get fried in a nuclear attack and avoid all the stress.

I'm looking forward to having it as it's the most exciting thing I'll probably have sent to my phone. I'll also know what it will sound like when wildfires and floods engulf my locality.

Blimey that's annoying. I guess that's the point though.

The hysteria on this thread is frankly hilarious.

It's not an either/or - if they cancelled the alerts, the ambulance service wouldn't magically improve.

Given the option, would you really prefer not to be alerted if, for instance, there was a serious risk of floods in your area, or someone dangerous on the loose?

What's so bad about Sunday afternoon? There will always be a time that is inconvenient for someone, and disasters and emergencies don't wait for convenient times.

Well, I'll report back after being in an arena with loads of people and horses. If I make it out alive, that is.

Would you not want your phone to make a loud noise to alert you of something dangerous local to where you are? Silent/vibrate won't be very helpful in that event.

I can hear my phone vibrate two floors away if it's a call or multiple messages. It would be nice to have the option.

And vibrate or even silent so you could see the message if you looked at the phone, would be more useful than nothing at all because someone feels they need to turn it off.

I get those via text and email already. I turned off the phone call as they called in the middle of the night to tell me we were on flood alert, not even a warning.

I must have been living under a rock because this is the first I've heard about this.

I'm surprised anyone has managed to miss it, it's been all over eveeywhere

Are you aware there's coronation coming up 😂

If papers like the Daily Mail didn't whip people up into a frenzy over this no one would be bothered. I bet they're laughing at how easy it is to anger the general public over a text message.

People are only turning the warning off because they think they're anti-establishment, a bit like American's holding onto their guns.

Have you read the thread, and previous threads about it? There are many reasons people would turn it off.

How to people panicking about this alarm cope with daily life, I'm genuinely curious

This is the latest thing to froth about, now we've run out of steam with Covid vaccinations.

Totally normal in so many countries, far more effective than sirens up poles or bonfires on hill tops. Useful for many situations from an abducted child to a toxic cloud of smoke.

Honestly, we will all survive it, even the anxious and angry among us.

I completely understand why some may be anxious about the alert, and want to turn it off. For info, I have a Samsung S9 and it has to be turned off in the message settings, not general settings. Hope that helps some people.

I'm also hoping that some illegal phones in prisons may be found as a result!

What does drive me mad are the conspiracy theorists who are all over social media (mostly TikTok), saying that this is all about government control, and having access to our phones, and locking us out of our phones if we refuse to comply with certain directions. 🙄

Obviously fgs

I’m predicting that the alert will go off about once a week once it starts. Wind, rain, snow, temperature rises above 20 or drops below 2. Because if the govt DOESN’T put out an alert eg for wind and someone gets hit by a tree they’ll be sued.

That's why I'll be keeping it tuned off @Famzonhol! It might not be so bad if we could turn it off at night but I don't want to be woken up by it.

If you don’t want to hear it-switch your phone off

very easy.

no need to panic

Go into messages, then press the 3 little dots, then settings, then notifications. It should be there.
My old S8 has it there, but I can't turn it off.

So youre only concerned about daytime emergencies? Do you not mind if your house floods while youre sleeping and you don't know to put out the sandbags (obviously just an example, you may not live in a floid area, replace with an emergency that might affect you)

Well I can't speak for everyone but for me personally, I suffer with chronic depression, find life extremely difficult and quite lonely because a lot of people don't understand when I try to explain what I find difficult. I have always felt like an alien, always known there was something wrong with me and always struggled with things that other people don't seem to even think about. I wouldn't wish this on anyone but it is my life.

Amazed at how many 'fgs get a grip' responses there are on this thread to what was clearly a pretty lighthearted expression of concern about the possibility of 'getting a little fright', as Roy from the IT Crowd would say.
Yes, I do get genuinely a little bit tense at the thought of a practice alarm and I do tend to jump ridiculously extremely. No, that doesn't make me some kind of pearl-clutching anti-alert conspiracy theorist.
I think it might perhaps be the 'fgs get a grip' crowd who are over-reacting to a small stimulus.

I'll also be at Wembley - or en route. Thousands of alarms going off there could be spectacular