When people post in an emergency

[Flowerrose]

I may be BU but I've never understood why people do this. For example a medical emergency, something that seems serious enough, the first thing someone does is turn to mumsnet to then be told to call 101 or 999 or head to A&E. Or say someone is missing, I don't think posters on mumsnet can really help much, better off posting on facebook so then people locally to them can be on the look out or say if they've seen anything, or 101 or going to look for them yourself. There's other times people have posted in what seems to be an emergency and I do wonder why their first thought was to go onto mumsnet. Whilst I've seeked advice on here in the past and it can be very useful it would be last thing on my mind if something needs immediate attention

I think sometimes people don’t want to think it’s an emergency so want to post here and be told “that’s nothing, don’t overreact”, which is understandable. Also I think people genuinely worry about wasting doctors’ time at A&E so want the justification in their own minds that they really do need to go.

Obviously that still doesn’t make it a sensible thing to do in a potential emergency.

It is easier to see what the sensible thing to do would be when you're not in that situation

Is it a reflection that some people live their entire lives online? Constantly seeking affirmation, unable to decide what to have for dinner without a random's advice let alone how to deal with a real emergency?