To think Facebook 'marking yourself safe' option is overused?

[iismum]

Sure, it's fantastic if, for example, you were at the Ariane Grande concert or it you spend a lot of time in the vicinity of London Bridge and there was a real chance you might have got caught up in the terror attacks and people would genuinely worry. But I feel like people obsessively marking themselves safe just because they live within 20 miles of the event when there was practically no chance they were involved just feeds the general hysteria and makes people feel that no one is safe.

To be honest, I was not beside myself worrying if my friend in leafy south-west London who probably crosses London Bridge twice a year was safe. What happened is horrendous, but 6 people died. Practically everyone in London is safe. I feel like people's need to mark themselves safe is increasing the impact of these attacks when we should be trying to do the opposite.

FuckingDingDong

Trains from south west London don't go to London Bridge.

I think you'll find that the Northern Line runs from South Wimbledon (which was South West London last time I checked my post code) to London Bridge.

Can't you just scroll on, like anything else on FB that bores you?

I might think people realise how unlikely it is for me to be in Borough or on London Bridge but if several people have contacted me to ask, it makes sense just to click and let everyone know.

I didn't even know you could do this.

I've a friend who marked herself safe after last night's events, we live 200 miles away yet she had over 100 comments asking if she was in London. She wasn't.

I think it's a good thing because you don't always see people's posts in order because FB seems determined to switch me to 'Top Posts' even though I pick 'Most Recent'.

I also think it's much better for people to tag themselves as safe than to have endless people ringing/texting them. I didn't message any of my London friends/relatives until after they'd contact me or messaged or marked themselves safe. I don't want to set someone's phone off if they might be trying to use it to get help or in case they are hiding.

YABU. I live hundreds of miles from London, but a friend was visiting there this weekend. She might have been involved, she might not, we have no way of knowing where she might be. When she activated "I'm safe", it was a relief to know that she is nowhere near the situation.

I think it is a handy tool, especially for family, to know that their loved ones are not caught up in it and that they are safe.

Trains from south west London don't go to London Bridge.

They go to Waterloo though which is within ten minutes walking distance of London Bridge.

Yabvu for people who dont live in London the majority of people dont know it well.

I could say where I live and I gurantee even some life long londoners may go oh thats west right or look at tube map. And we are only just in zone 2.

So for family or friends who maybe go to london once a year or less they wouldnt have a clue where things are.

Also it was a Saturday night next to a mainline station.

So even if you dont work there or commute from there or live there whos to say you where not having a night out there?

I also think it's a good tool when somewhere as big as London is involved. My cousin lives in Finsbury Park. I know where that is in relation too London Bridge. To several of our relatives she lives and works in "London". It was good for them to see her as safe quickly.

I was out in London last night and I live in London. I wasn't in the area of the attack but my family (abroad) and friends don't know that. Me using the "I'm safe" reporting is very helpful for my family.

Who cares if it's overused and if attention seekers in far off counties declare themselves to be safe? It's a simple straightforward and easy to access resource.

It would only make sense to those who are constantly on facebook by the minute. I think the idea is in good faith but can cause annoying panic if one sees the status a few days letter. This blog puts it better snip.ly/z7oiq

I used it when the Westminster Bridge attack happened as it was day time and there was a chance I could be in the area, I had lots of messages asking if I was ok. I didn't last night as there was little chance I would be there that late at night as I have children and live in another area of London.

I can't get too worked up about people using it though.

YANBU

I just had this exact same conversation about people who live 20 miles away tagging themselves as safe when they never even visit London.

I have a work colleague who marked herself as safe during the Paris attacks and has never even been to France!

Fantastic idea, if used correctly. Otherwise it's just ridiculous.

If one of your friends is using it in a way you disapprove of, have you considered that maybe you just don't like your friend?

The Op makes a valid point but sometimes people do "odd" things at times like this. A friend of mine marked herself safe, she lives in Worthing. I texted her and asked if she was ok as I'd assumed perhaps she gone up town for the day/night. Nope, had been in Worthing all night and rarely goes to the City.

I got criticised for marking myself safe in Manchester, I live bang in the middle of the ongoing activity and I was in town at the time. Yes I could have clicked not relevant but when 20 people are trying to get through to me at once from across the planet it was easier for them to get a notification so I could concentrate on contacting other people urgently. People living 10 miles out marking themselves safe on the Wednesday morning however...

Well why not rock 'doesn't apply' then? It comes up on the list all the same! If you sometimes visit Borough Market or use the station but were but caught up in last night's horrific events in any way, or you just happen to live in the general vicinity of London, you tick 'doesn't apply'. Because it doesn't. 'Safe' implies you were at the scene or had a near miss or you were in actual danger.

'Doesn't apply' lets people know all is well. But like I said upthread, it is less attention grabbing and dramatic....

YABU a bit. I have family in London, I knew they were out in the city last night and I was incredibly anxious waiting to hear from them to check they were ok, sent texts, left messages and I actually kept checking facebook too to see if they had marked themselves as safe and eventually went to bed at 2am once I'd heard they were okay.

On the other hand, I live bloody hundreds of miles away and facebook were telling me to mark myself as safe as I was 'near there'. I think their geotag thing is broken in that case! in that sort of instance no YNBU.

YANBU

I've got people who live in the suburbs marking themselves as safe. I suppose there is the argument that they could have gone out for London that night but if that's the case, you would message close friends and family who know you may have been there. Not post on Facebook.

Trains from south west London don't go to London Bridge.

People from South West London often go to London Bridge though.

I'd never heard of this function until now. I can see it's a useful tool for people known to be geographically close to these incidents but inevitably there will always be more than a few overly dramatic, attention seeking types looking for a piece of the 'action' so to speak.

At around 7.30pm last night I saw an Instagram post from a friend who lives 200 miles away. It was a picture of a stage accompanied by a single word.

It probably meant little to most people however I knew the word referred to a west end show & I recognised the set. Having no idea what hotel she was staying in I was relieved to see her posting this morning. Would she have been wrong to mark herself safe just because MSNBC people might not have realised she was in central London.

When only a very small number of people die it's extremely unlikely it's someone you know

This is true, even if you include the larger number of people who have been injured or caught up in it, the chance is pretty small.

However when it comes to tragedy even small percentage chance seems like a possibility. When I had an operation I was told there was a 1% chance of my dying. Believe me that seemed more of a possibility than a 1% change of my winning the a large sum of money might, despite my knowing it is the same odds.

Fear needs a hardfast acknowledgement it's not necessary, more than hope does, before it can be lost.

I don't know. I get what you're saying but I have a friend who's family live in Manchester but she currently lives in Liverpool. It sounds stupid now but I was sick with worry after the ariana grande concert because I had no idea if she was in Manchester or Liverpool. She was fine, but I was very reassured when she marked herself as safe. I assume the same applies for those who know people living in London. Yes it's a big place and yes statistically it's unlikely our friends / relatives are involved but somebody's friends / relatives were involved so it's better to have peace of mind in these sorts of situations. Also I don't think it spreads fear or causes hysteria, it's just about putting people's minds at rest.

YABU, why should it bother you? Just ignore it if it bothers you. It doesn't warrant an IABU? You come across a bit on your high horse

The only time I have ever used it was for the Westminster attack and that's because are usually am around that area.

I've seen people use it though for things like earthquakes when they are not even in the same country.