Text does have a better chance of connecting than voice. Emergency services need to learn to receive text messages. Geo-location needs to be attached to text messages (particularly to 911/000).
Problem solved, particularly with the EMS example from Atlanta.
lindahayles
· 3 months ago
Hell yes, Bob! I'm with you on that one.
JC John Sese Cuneta (謝施洗)
· 3 months ago
Yep. Here in the Philippines (being the so-called "texting capital of the world"), our emergency hotlines can receive text messages. (But sadly, only few people use these hotlines, it is way much faster for us to help them ourselves, or drive fast to the hospital. [We love to help :p ]).
But I think it will also depend on the culture of the area and the age/generation of the people. Those two Australian kids grew up in a social-networking world so they probably thought that SNS is much faster; and [2] the first thing that popped up into their minds was, well, SNS.
The earlier generation will be more comfortable with voice calls, like 911 or 000 or whatever. The generation of "texters" will be comfortable with texting (again just like here in the Philippines, we prefer texting over voice calls even if calling is much cheaper in the long-run).
Jeff
· 3 months ago
It's sad how reliant some people are on social networking services. What if facebook's or twitter's service was unavailable, would they risk death instead of calling for help?
lindahayles
· 3 months ago
Jeff, are you serious? I'd rather have many friends call 911 for me than me run the risk of losing my phone or my battery dying before an actual 911 operator reached the phone. Also, what if I was kidnapped and couldn't talk? I could actually update my facebook status while my assailant wasn't looking and he'd never know...
Social media rocks, dude...:)
Grebehead
· 3 months ago
Texting? Uses a lot less battery power than going online... I suppose a text goes to one person and everyone can see a tweet, but personally I´d think it was a joke if somebody posted "I'm in the back of a van - on my way to certain death - pls hlp!".
Name
· 3 months ago
agreed. Its about the equivilant of yelling rape out in public. i'd find it pretty funny, because thats probably not going to happen. Then again im sadistick. But going online uses WAY more power than a phone call. Example, 911 operators arent retarded. if you called and said i need a param..... and your phone went out, they could trace your number and depending on the phone, they could use a satellite to pinpoint your location. but just the overall competence of people has gone down in the last 10 years.
lindahayles
· 3 months ago
I'm glad you're not my friend because any friend of mine would know I wouldn't just say something like that just to shoot the breeze.
FacebookUser
· 2 months ago
Many people might actually think it's a joke if you say that kind of thing on your facebook or tweeter, and I agree with "Name" (next time put an actual name :P), most cell phones now adays have GPS built in them, so the police can eaily track down your phone in a matter of seconds if you do call for help and your phone dies... Don't worry people, 911 operators really arent stupid, and yea, going on the web takes more battery power then text or a call, since you gotta wait for the page to even load, takes longer then text, therefor, it uses more battey. Well, In my opinion, Facebook and Tweeter aint the best place to post a help message since now adays most teens like to mess around, so a 12 year-old girl posting that she needs help, I would personally try to contact anyone in that case, but other people might think its a joke... Well, im done -_- Peace all
Gary Pillsbury
· 3 months ago
I don't really so agree with you. First,I do think that the last thing that I did on my cell phone before the battery went dead was to call for help! Not update my status. Besides,what would you put for an update? "I just died!?!?!?" As for being kidnapped,and not being able to speak,did you know that some police departments are taking 911 calls via text messaging? Check that one out! Use common sense! Your life or getting help! Which is it?
lindahayles
· 3 months ago
We can agree to disagree. Listen, I'm not saying that as adult I'm going to update Facebook in case of an emergency. However... I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I posted something like that on FB no one would think it was a joke. I'm not 12. Maybe some police departments are taking 911 via text but not in Orlando, FL so I hope I don't have to text 911 anytime soon.
Question for you though. How many people do you think would send the police on bogus runs??? Maybe Blackhawk County in Iowa doesn't have that problem. It's THE ONLY place in the U.S. that has 911 text (but you have to be a T-Mobile customer) So it's not "some police depts" it's only this one place in the middle of nowhere in Iowa.
crvenk
· 2 months ago
Gary - i like the bit " I just died". True. I think calling 911 would be the best way to go ahead. I think updating status or tweeting is just to create some hype.
Name
· 3 months ago
People like you are exactly what is wrong with country. You are the epitome of f.................. stupid...
lindahayles
· 3 months ago
Your choice of words clearly define your level of education. Your grammar is very poor as well. People like me pay taxes so people like you can call 911. :)
Tracy
· 2 months ago
I agree with Linda. Just because its a public agency, doesn't make 911 the best choice in every case. If the girls were already on FB when they got scared (or stuck, whatever), I can understand why their first contact would be with people they KNOW, who would take them seriously and could call 911. My cell phone batteries are constantly near the drop-dead-point and theirs were likely similar if they were on FB all night during their adventure-who knows. I have called 911 about a dozen times, usually about traffic accidents and the like, and had them take so long to answer that I gave up on them. That could make the difference between living and dying if you phone loses a battery. Texting to FB would be almost immediate and lots of people could see it, instead of one or two overworked 911 operators. I assume the reason they did not answer at 911 is that they were already swamped, possibly with other people calling who had seen the same emergency (I hope). So just from reading a news article (which did not explain the girls' situation very well) we do not know if they are "stupid" or not. I guess some people are just quick to judge. Whatever. They make the beds they sleep in.
Name
· 3 months ago
what you smoking and where can i get some? while you were taking the time to login and update you could've easly texted the first in your contacts for help. what sense does that make. people are easily relying a little too much on myspace, twitter and other websites. i mean i love twitter and myspace and all but i would texted fo help the fist chance i got.
tarale
· 3 months ago
We also have a problem in Australia where many so-called "free" phone numbers aren't free from mobile telephones. 000 is an exception, but a lot of people think they will be billed for it because they are billed for every other "free" call.
Given their age they are likely pre-paid phone customers as well...
I don't think 000 in Australia allows people to send SMS messages about problems.
Perhaps this was the only way they thought they could reach someone with their limited resources.
elllo ello mates
· 2 months ago
How many prepaid phones can access facebook? Not too many. Why is everyone talking about their batteries being dead?? I never even heard that either of their batteries were dead. Why would they both be dead? Cell phone companies should install emergency batteries in the phones that work only when calling 911/999/000 etc. . Lol, though, sometimes cell phones act strange when calling 911, my phone had a full charge and it died.
Rebekah
· 2 months ago
you can update your status via text message, so accessing facebook is not an issue
Gary Pillsbury
· 3 months ago
I do so agree with you on that! Read as to what I wrote,which is just above yours and see as to what I did think!
Gina Valo
· 3 months ago
I'm pretty sure this is what Darwin had in mind when he wrote about natural selection in 'On the Origin of Species'.
Gary Pillsbury
· 3 months ago
I'd say that this is The Further Adventures of Dumb and Dumber!
redwall_hp
· 3 months ago
"10- and 12-year old girls"
Uh...why do they have Facebook accounts? You have to be a high school student to create an account. (And you have to be approved by a few people who go to the school you list if you're under 18.) They're definitely in violation of the Facebook ToS...
lindahayles
· 3 months ago
Violation or not... the BIG picture is that they are safe because they were able to connect to friends via social media...
robblewis
· 3 months ago
Linda the big picture is that these girls did not think to call emergency services but rather post to fb and _hope_ someone reads it, believes it and then knows what to do. Agree with Bob above...EMS needs to add texting support and then spread the word just as they do with 911 in the US.
newagebitch
· 3 months ago
You only have to be 13. Did you read the TOS? http://www.facebook.com/terms.php Can't comment on them being 10 and 12, but hey, how about it just being a good thing they're alive? The fact is, they used the resources they had and were found. Shouldn't that be the end of the story?
Rebekah
· 2 months ago
You don't have to be in high school to get on facebook anymore.
Michael Bennett Cohn
· 3 months ago
I totally understand. People trust those who know them more than the police, and they are right to do so. I would probably have done the same thing.
lindahayles
· 3 months ago
My man... I agree with you here. :)
Manjak
· 3 months ago
And they COULDN'T call their relative but could EASILY post in FB to let the whole world know about them ?
Something needs to change in this world & fast.
Michael Bennett Cohn
· 3 months ago
Posting to FB gets a message to a lot more people, and a lot faster, than a single phone call.
vlada1
· 2 months ago
but wath could hapend if no one take it seriously??? im sure that my ffriend wouldnt
David Pierpont
· 3 months ago
This is an important example of changing human behavior with evolving technologies. We are seeing muscle memory at work here, people respond to crisis based on what they know to do instinctively and/or that decision is greatly enhanced if the action is repeated daily. The first responders are right to be worried about the trend as it could delay response since their “organizational system” is not set-up to handle this new mode of communication.
We are in a time of transitions and now is the time to create strategies from a Gov 2.0 level on how to adapt and market ways to respond these changing trends. Some will argue one way, like making a direct phone call is the better way. Some circumstances that will be true, but like the story mentions at the end, what if your cell is running out of power, or the phones lines are clogged during a crisis or you are not able to talk to a 911 operator?
This is a great opportunity to see the social networks come up with some good ideas to help. That brings up another issue. I personally believe if you are one of the lucky social networks to be the size of facebook, myspace, Google, Yahoo and Twitter...you now have a corporate responsibility to help participate with government on the solutions. I know that movement is afoot, but would like to see more resources put into that effort.
Nod to privacy issues...yes! But advocates must be willing to work and come up with solutions, be part of dialogue and not panic and be nay sayers over everything. IMHO
lindahayles
· 3 months ago
David... I have a simple explanation for all of this.
Get with the program people. We are raising children in a technology driven world. You better learn how to use this technology so you too can save someone or yourself even... using this technology.
I applaud those little girls.
I also say that if President can post a video and send it to our email inbox, we should be able to post a video straight from our cell phone to our 911 center... (wink)
I like what you're saying! :)
Name
· 2 months ago
Uh yeah, teach them new technology is good and all, but this is clearly beyond that. it's one thing to use technology to help oneself, it's another thing to be completely reliant on it. To me, a highschool student, it's mind bloggling to think that people a few years younger than me are so brain dead that they can't even remember to call 911, or the equivalent. The basic skills of calling emergency numbers should be common knowledge, to not know it is just a sign of decay in our society. Do I care? Not really. In this growing world, the idiots gets weeded out, and it just creates more opportunities for me if the rest of the population is getting dumber.
JC John Sese Cuneta (謝施洗)
· 3 months ago
One way for emergency hotlines to keep up with evolving technologies is they follow it. If the new generation's first action in an emergency situation is to SNS, then they need to to create SNS accounts. For example, tweeting to @911 or @000 etc.
The only problem I see there is, lack of information, especially when people are panicking. And more likely than not, it will be a one way communication.
Name
· 2 months ago
to be fair, they might not have had phone reception underground. a txt will try over and over again to send itself.
Sheema Siddiqi
· 3 months ago
This doesn't prove that all young people are dependent on social media, it just proves that those two girls were idiots who didn't have any common sense.
MaxRyerson
· 3 months ago
This is not only a clear reflection of our times, but also plays to Facebook's long term goal of becoming the leading communication application replacing phones. It's also clear that emergency services around the world should be on Facebook/Twitter and this should just be an additional way of contacting them.
footybanter.co.uk
· 3 months ago
Proof yet again that most of the general public are idiots.
Arjn143
· 3 months ago
@Bob Chapman, Iowa has implemented texting capability in their 911 service. I'm sure more are planning to as well.
@redwall_hp, +1. They shouldn't have Facebook accounts at their age. Twitter may have been more sensible (then again.. nevermind, I don't want to start a huge discussion :) ).
@lindahayles, -1. They would have been safe by calling 000 themselves.
@WisTex, "exploring the tunnels", wtf? They shouldn't have been there in the first place. They wouldn't have gotten "lost" if they didn't go "exploring". And as said earlier, they could've/should've called 000 themselves.
@Owen Kelly, good arguments. In this case though, those wouldn't hold strong.
@Name, also good arguments, but these are young girls, they could have gotten themselves into more serious danger. What if one fell and injured their self, would they still have updated their Facebook status rather than calling 000? (I sure hope not! :|) But to stick to the point, again as said before, they shouldn't have been there to begin with.
All in all, I'm glad they're safe. Hope this goes out as a message to other "lost" kids, don't update your status, at least BEFORE you call 911/000.
Mike Abundo
· 3 months ago
Some things are still better left to plain old telephony.
akila87
· 3 months ago
Too much of any thing is bad :D
Andrew2065
· 3 months ago
Am I the only one that thinks they did this because they didn't want to get into trouble unless they REALLY had to? They told their friends, but had they been desperate they would have called 000.
WisTex
· 3 months ago
That is my thinking too.
BB
· 3 months ago
They probably reached more people (assuming they alerted friends to their need for help) via FB than a single call might have.
Striggity
· 3 months ago
I probably shouldn't laugh, but lol @ them
serra
· 3 months ago
these are children. please people. this is not something to laugh at. some adult is the one who should be taken to task for not teaching them about the difference between social networking and 000. Whether they updated for fun or not vs help is not really clear. The article says that it wasn't clear they thought they really were in danger. I am not sure the kids didn't just think it was "cool" to be stuck down there in the beginning. anytime weird things happen, people update their pages. It doesn't mean they were dumb... just caught up in how odd their circumstances were.
Whore chicks!
· 3 months ago
I would laugh, bunch of dumb bit***s i reckon. You might aswell ring 000, they just to be noticed.
WisTex
· 3 months ago
In their defense, they probably thought they could find a way out and were just updating their friends on their situation. They were most likely "exploring" the tunnels or thought it would be a shortcut, and had no clue of the dangers involved. If they felt they were in imminent danger, they probably would have called 000 (Australia's equivalent of 911). Their friends did the right thing and called the fire department for rescue.
JC John Sese Cuneta (謝施洗)
· 3 months ago
That too, a possibility.
And by SNS-ing their situation, the "what-if-it-is-too-late" suddenly becomes comfortable to live with. "O, it's okay, we 'tweeted' it. If we die here, at least they know where we are." Unlike calling the authorities, they won't give you a chance to "explore" and "experience" stuff.
I agree, their friends did the right thing.
-- They could also have called the authorities first, then they can tweet all they like afterwards. Which is what's probably going to happen if one is lost or trapped in the mountains or some cave.
WisTex
· 3 months ago
When I was a kid, I did some exploring and took some shortcuts (including through storm sewers). Just because I got lost doesn't mean I would call for help, unless I had totally gotten to the point of realizing I was totally helplessly lost. If there was no apparent danger, I would not have called for help either. I would have just kept looking to find a way to get out. As a kid, I always managed to find my way back, even hours later. Why call police and get in trouble when you are not in danger (or think you are not)? That would be their logic, and mine when I was a kid. I understand their thinking.
That being said, walking through storm sewers is very dangerous, something kids usually do not think about, or if they do think about it, they believe nothing bad will happen to them. They shouldn't have then there in the first place, and since they felt they were not in danger, they probably had no desire to call someone who would get them in trouble. Although, ironically, posting it on Facebook for everyone they know to see... well that wasn't too smart if you were trying to not get in trouble. LOL
JC John Sese Cuneta (謝施洗)
· 3 months ago
Yep.
I think this case, in a way, caused something positive. The use of SNS for emergency purposes (whether the girls used it to get help or just to jot down their experience), will now prompt the authorities, NGOs, and concerned citizens to prepare.
Probably for us who were born before the social-network and social-media era will find these actions crazy, but to today's generation it will be the first thing to popped into their minds - micro-blogging.
Owen Kelly
· 3 months ago
There is a few reasons you should use a text or social networking service over calling directly. They are:
You cannot talk well enough to be understood (injured or background noise).
You don't feel you could get the message out effectively.
You know that someone else can raise the alarm better than you (due to injury or ineffectiveness to communicate via voice).
In this case, they should have called. But the case at the end of the article, and that of say the journalist who managed to tweet "Arrested." are more than appropriate times to use something other than a phone call.
Sneh
· 3 months ago
I am in Sydney. When my son was lost in a massively public spot last year, we had 9 families and the rangers helping us look for him. When I called the police, 2 minutes into realizing we couldn't find him, I was on the phone with them for 10 minutes, EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED because they needed me to tell them the exact street I was on [I gave them the name of the park I was in, told them it was smack in front of the Sydney Convention Center, that it was at the junction of so and so street, but it wasn't ON a street per se] .. that didn't help them. I was in tears before I hung up on them and continued running around looking for him. He was eventually found an hour later [he had wandered off into the center where we were earlier because he couldn't see us in the playground amidst all the crowd]. The rangers found him .. the police never came!!!
Wess Stewart
· 3 months ago
*facepalm
Linda
· 3 months ago
*eyeroll*
adamsonx
· 3 months ago
I never thought I'd say this before, but they deserve it.
Vake
· 3 months ago
Reminds me of when perez hilton tweeted "call 911" when will.i.am's bodyguard was kicking his ass.
Rudy
· 3 months ago
used 2 really love it til they disabled my account. The trust is gone. Many others are in the same boat; I'd like it addressed. www.youtube.com/meetingwithmark
Rob
· 3 months ago
I live in Adelaide and I'm not sorry to say that is how stupid _MANY_ of the children here are.
I stick by my comments that unless there's a big change before I hit 25 (I'm 16 now) the world is going to turn to dust at the hands of the idiots that are, my generation.
Name
· 3 months ago
This is not about Facebook or 911 service response, it's a story about stupid teenage girls.
Lemi4
· 3 months ago
Dude, spam! Look at the above multiple comments from "Admin"...
vips
· 3 months ago
seriously ..too much of social media..!!!
Bradj47
· 3 months ago
Wow... Just wow.
Cris Cohen
· 3 months ago
I suppose it could have been worse. "Instead of calling for help, trapped girls check Britney Spears Twitter feed."
Name
· 3 months ago
Only in Adelaide!
Jon
· 3 months ago
Not really sure why they got so bent out of shape. You aren't obligated to use the 000 service. hahaha. (jk)
Janis Kay
· 3 months ago
At least they weren't put on hold like can happen here in the states! So it might not have been a bad idea after all.
slippy
· 3 months ago
So, were they taught in school about the importance and correct use of the emergency hotline? If not, it might be time to take another look at their school's curriculum.
Amy
· 3 months ago
Actually, if they were underground there may not have been enough signal to put a voice call through. I can often send texts from subway platforms where I can't make a voice call. Also, while I doubt that they had considered this at their age, posting to Facebook would trigger multiple calls, making it more likely that a proper response would occur. We constantly hear about cases where calls are mishandled...more calls ups the odds of getting help.
Side note...are 10 and 12 year olds supposed to be allowed on Facebook?
Name
· 3 months ago
Except what happens when, let's say 4+ people start calling the emergency number for one event? Then people who actually /need/ help may not get through.
Trish
· 3 months ago
They were young and perhaps did not make the best choice available. Another young fellow in lost in Mountains called 000 three times , spoke to 3 different people and still died because he couldn't get his message across about his exact location ...perhaps if he had updated his facebook status he might have had more of a chance.
Name
· 3 months ago
Umm … sure, you can bash them. You're ignoring the part where they may not have felt they were in danger, though. They were probably trying to find a way out without an emergency rescue. I know I wouldn't turn to 911 if I thought I was just lost.
Or it's possible they didn't have service to make a call, but had enough to update their status. There isn't enough evidence here to decide they're brain dead.
Tirminyl
· 3 months ago
They should have recorded a YouTube video instead.
Guest
· 3 months ago
WTF
Totes McGotes
· 3 months ago
Lame... they should have tweeted. Facebook is so 2000 and late.
Manjak
· 3 months ago
Are you an idiot or just acting like one ? I'm betting it isn't the latter.
Maria
· 3 months ago
Wow!! it is sad how some people don't appreciated their lives...
Gary Pillsbury
· 3 months ago
I do guess that it goes to show that some young girls are totally immature when it comes to knowing what kind of danger they are in. It is more important to update status on Facebook or do some kind of social status,just before you are injured or killed! What is going on that you have to tell people as to how you are going to die,before that it does hit the newpapers the following morning? I do know that if I was in a storm drain,I would call for help! Of course,the smart thing is not to be in a storm drain in the first place! The story never did say as to how they got in or why they was there in the first place. So,I do wonder on that one. Was it a dare? I do think that the ones that dared these girls to go in,should be put in jail. Why was the entrance of the storm drains sealed off from being entered? I do bet their parents gave them a good punishment for doing something stupid as that! I would have grounded them and taken away their cell phones for good! Why did they have them in the first place?
rajagiri4
· 3 months ago
so sad. if they came back?
karan1
· 3 months ago
I donot think people needed Emergency Services will call any of the social media they are more likely call the emrgency number like 100,101,etc for quick help so all in one i donot agree of if the battery is low select all the number from ur phne book and send the emrgency message to all with a high Alert or importance thts make ur jon more simpler ,coz in one time ur reaching al the people who is in ur phne book
Vinit Sharma
· 3 months ago
Doe this mean social services now need to be on social netowrks and monitor for emergency calls :) Well a Twitter account wont harm I mean to say.
tarale
· 3 months ago
Nice picture of a bin fire in Topham Mall. ;)
As the article says, I suppose they may have had problems with battery. Being young folk as well they may not have realised that 000 is still free from mobile phones. Most other "free calls" aren't free from mobile phones in Australia, so a lot of people are confused as to whether 000 is free or not from a mobile phone. More of a concern for young people who tend to rely upon prepaid plans.
Also, even if they've poor reception, 000 calls will attempt to connect to any available network (even ones they're not a customer of).
bodybuilding exercises
· 3 months ago
It is rather obvious that the first call should have been to "000" and not to post on FaceBook without much debate. After the emergency call, the girls could have then occupied their wait time with FaceBook. How long could the "000" call have taken to know right away that someone was coming to help you instead of hoping a friend saw your post.
Sam
· 3 months ago
Surely it would be impossible for 10/12 year olds to be able to update a Facebook status as it would be violating the Facebook rules... You need to be 13 to be able to use Facebook...
coke
· 3 months ago
nice
footybanter.co.uk
· 3 months ago
Proof yet again that most of the general public are idiots.
Anjali
· 3 months ago
facebook addiction....:D
Sadaf
· 3 months ago
Very brave girls who took wrong decision but it went right for them :)
niubi
· 3 months ago
I don't know, 10 and 12 is pretty young, but I'm wondering how you get 'trapped in a drain'! At least they had the sense to call for help (even if it was by Facebook and not emergency services). They could have chosen to while the time away on http://www.dubli.com instead!
Sai Bharadwaj
· 3 months ago
looks interesting :D Nice idea I wud say. Sharing time with friends in emergency moments instead of 911 or doctors. hehe. just kidding :)
Tina Thompson
· 3 months ago
Wow, are you kidding me? I am hearing a log of stories like this whereby people want to share their stories through the network hopping for coverage in the media. Bottom line, the human race as we use to know it does not exist nor will it ever however reliant on social networking - now that seems to be the new thing. I guess the 911 operators will soon be unemployed. I’m sorry but this story is sad..
plasticmadness
· 3 months ago
You are not going to believe this, but in my country it may be faster and safer to ask for help via social networking. Brazil does not have a unified emergency call number. Medical emergencies are one number, police is another, and fireman is yet another. If you are in the metro area it works just fine. But in case you're anywhere a little bit more into the countryside, if you are to rely on emergency services to save your life then you are in pretty bad sheets.
John Smith
· 3 months ago
Facebook and Twitter are giants in breaking the real time news, but the social networks are to be used assertively. Calling for help is wiser than updating the status in Facebook or Twitter. There is chance of it being considered as fake news also. This can be avoided.
TOBO
· 3 months ago
It's strange that people think that it's unlikely these girls were having trouble connecting to 911 via voice service. I wouldn't be surprise if the news outlet jumped the gun because this sounds like a story that would really rile people up. I'd wait to see wait the parents of the kids said. My money is that they tried calling and couldn't get through, so they posted on facebook, which would be possible even if the connection was going in and out. If that's the case, then they were pretty resourceful.
I had listened to a really interesting webinar (ok, medium interesting) but it made the point that social networks are how younger generations communicate. I think this example points out that for those younger than Tweens (what exactly are we calling this generation) this mode of communication is how it's done. www.blackboxstrategy.net
Teri S.
· 3 months ago
Wow! That is quite ridiculous that their first thought was to get on facebook rather than call the police/emergency number. Guess that's what too much technology can do to a person..
Dan
· 3 months ago
Yeah... It's my understanding that you have to be at least 13 years old to get a Facebook account. So yeah ... not sure what Facebook's legal staff thinks about this.
Steve
· 3 months ago
Why start this article with "Too much social media can be a bad thing"?
The problem is not at all that the girls use social media too much, but that the way they chose to call for help was not optimum. There is a difference between "too much" and "wrong time and place".
Tony
· 3 months ago
LOL. Kids are funny these days.
zalik
· 3 months ago
Cindy, the news is on another white girl went up and fell down the well...(guess the movie)
DiggDugg
· 3 months ago
This weeks story is sponsor by stupidty. Making us laugh since forever.
Martin
· 3 months ago
what... the... hell... at ANY age if your STUCK in a stormdrain you would call 911/000 whoot ever it is and be like "help me damn it!". how ever this is a question into the current youth of today! i mean i am 18 and i use facebook and im gonna be honest and say i log into it everyday. But if im STUCK somewhere i am not going to update my status and say "oh dear, im in a stormdrain, halp? plz,K,Thx,Bai." im more incline to hit up the emergency services and ask them for help.
i think its due to the fact everyone is growing up in a social media society, and people need to teach there kids that facebook dosn't come first when you are in danger/stuck/being stupid.
LOB
· 3 months ago
Wow this just shows how common sense is going out the window.
Name
· 3 months ago
wtf dumbass girls
Maya
· 2 months ago
This is... disappointing. Someone needs to knock some sense into this girl.
beani
· 2 months ago
I know they didnt say that the phones were dying but if they were I know that I can text for almost an hour on a dying phone but the second I try to place a call the battery is gone. So if in that situation and with a dying phone I may have done the same thing. Like someone said you can text your status to facebook, you dont have to access the site, and at the same time you are taking more of a risk hoping the one person you text gets your message and calls for help, then you are putting it on the web for your, however many friends to see. But at the same time I know atleast here in canada you can do text to landlines, where a computerized voice reads your text out to whoever answers the phone. If the situation were a life or death, I would text every number in my phone, update my facebook and twitter. Remember they are young girls the fact that they did anything in the first place is a good sign lol :)
Brad
· 2 months ago
They actually had enough battery and enough credit. I live in Sydney, and hearing this was a very sad thing indeed. I don't know if you guys realise, it's not just about getting contact, it's about getting the RIGHT contact. 000 is the number we are meant to RING. We have had numerous cases of failures even when someone does ring 000 directly let alone going about it in this manner. A kid died bushwalking because of the failure of our emergency number service. Seriously, he starved to death whilst trying to contact 000. He died 30 minutes after his last call. I know everyone out there in the world thinks "dumb Australians", but we have an extremely deficient phone emergency service. We only just went to a centralised dialing system with mobile phones (previously, each mobile phone carrier had their OWN emergency number). I think it is only in the last four years we centralised it to the 000 service. With the bad press our emergency phone service has received nationally, I can understand why they sent it to their facebook. It's not the girls, blame our emergency phone service for being virtually useless.
David
· 2 months ago
Brad, sorry to hear about the state of your phone services. There are a lot of facts that are fuzzy, I have heard that the girls were trapped for several hours after posting on Facebook. If the case was that the girls called Emergency Services first then they were doing the right thing to pursue other avenues but I think there are social issues at work that others have alluded to, namely they didn't want to get in trouble. Kids are a reflection of culture at it's most primitive and they also showed very little common sense, Emergency services are best equipped and should be the first point of contact. The SMS to these services is a great alternate channel and should be developed.
Other comments on battery life etc don't hold water because launching a browser on the phone and connecting to the internet take far more power than a phone call and are separate to the SMS channels.
It's important to reinforce that social media is just another thing that absorbs kids attention and they should STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER/PHONE. Every family needs to talk to their kids about emergencies including putting an ICE contact at the top of their mobile in case they are found unconscious.
To Linsey and other trumpeters of Facebook it is important that all communication tools have their strengths and weaknesses and getting help fast ISN'T a strength of Facebooks. Plain and simple, kids need to still have safety talks and parents need to limit social media to other brain enhancing things like reading, writing and making things. (Please don't respond with how great the writing is online)
smitty33
· 2 months ago
I think the very clear message here is "Emergency services should accept texts".
Kallee
· 2 months ago
Better than them doing nothing. Back in the day they'd have to use their voices to call and maybe noone would hear them. Ever think of that?
Ashish Kalmegh
· 2 months ago
that girl must be on drugs ...
James
· 2 months ago
Why couldn't the councilman have done both? Tweet first; then call. If his statement is true about concern for the battery dying, the tweet would have served as backup, not the most reliable call for help.
Jimmy Gilmore
· 2 months ago
Tonight I'm going to show my 2 and 3 year old girls how to dial 911.
Annoyed by idiocracy
· 2 months ago
What the hell is wrong with society? Suppose you're ever so helpful twitter and facebook goes down (which has happened many times before). You'd be the idiot found dead and your message/status update never went through. Come on people i know you have some sort of intelligence! I'd hate to see what you'd do if those sites actually crashed one day. Idiots all over the world trumph texting in hopes of a friend being online rather than calling 911.....lol its so ridiculous its funny. I feel sorry for you. Hope you never actually get kidnapped. My thoughts to your family.
Name
· 1 month ago
that really is sad that in a day and age where people are fortunate enough to have cell phones with them so they can call for help (just a decade or so ago that wasn't the case) they instead decide to update their facebook pages.... absurd! i mean i'm glad they're ok but it would have been horrible if they weren't and all because they used their cellphones to update fb instead of calling for help. it could be that, as this article states, they may not have felt it to be an emergency and may not have felt like they were really in much danger, but even so...even if they hadn't called 911 or 000 that they may have at least phoned a friend or family member for help. i think even more concerning is the person tweeting for paramedics for a situation that was clearly an emergency rather than calling 911
All Comments
Problem solved, particularly with the EMS example from Atlanta.
But I think it will also depend on the culture of the area and the age/generation of the people. Those two Australian kids grew up in a social-networking world so they probably thought that SNS is much faster; and [2] the first thing that popped up into their minds was, well, SNS.
The earlier generation will be more comfortable with voice calls, like 911 or 000 or whatever. The generation of "texters" will be comfortable with texting (again just like here in the Philippines, we prefer texting over voice calls even if calling is much cheaper in the long-run).
Social media rocks, dude...:)
Question for you though. How many people do you think would send the police on bogus runs??? Maybe Blackhawk County in Iowa doesn't have that problem. It's THE ONLY place in the U.S. that has 911 text (but you have to be a T-Mobile customer) So it's not "some police depts" it's only this one place in the middle of nowhere in Iowa.
You are the epitome of f.................. stupid...
I have called 911 about a dozen times, usually about traffic accidents and the like, and had them take so long to answer that I gave up on them. That could make the difference between living and dying if you phone loses a battery. Texting to FB would be almost immediate and lots of people could see it, instead of one or two overworked 911 operators. I assume the reason they did not answer at 911 is that they were already swamped, possibly with other people calling who had seen the same emergency (I hope). So just from reading a news article (which did not explain the girls' situation very well) we do not know if they are "stupid" or not. I guess some people are just quick to judge. Whatever. They make the beds they sleep in.
Given their age they are likely pre-paid phone customers as well...
I don't think 000 in Australia allows people to send SMS messages about problems.
Perhaps this was the only way they thought they could reach someone with their limited resources.
Uh...why do they have Facebook accounts? You have to be a high school student to create an account. (And you have to be approved by a few people who go to the school you list if you're under 18.) They're definitely in violation of the Facebook ToS...
Something needs to change in this world & fast.
We are in a time of transitions and now is the time to create strategies from a Gov 2.0 level on how to adapt and market ways to respond these changing trends. Some will argue one way, like making a direct phone call is the better way. Some circumstances that will be true, but like the story mentions at the end, what if your cell is running out of power, or the phones lines are clogged during a crisis or you are not able to talk to a 911 operator?
This is a great opportunity to see the social networks come up with some good ideas to help. That brings up another issue. I personally believe if you are one of the lucky social networks to be the size of facebook, myspace, Google, Yahoo and Twitter...you now have a corporate responsibility to help participate with government on the solutions. I know that movement is afoot, but would like to see more resources put into that effort.
Nod to privacy issues...yes! But advocates must be willing to work and come up with solutions, be part of dialogue and not panic and be nay sayers over everything. IMHO
Get with the program people. We are raising children in a technology driven world. You better learn how to use this technology so you too can save someone or yourself even... using this technology.
I applaud those little girls.
I also say that if President can post a video and send it to our email inbox, we should be able to post a video straight from our cell phone to our 911 center... (wink)
I like what you're saying! :)
The only problem I see there is, lack of information, especially when people are panicking. And more likely than not, it will be a one way communication.
@redwall_hp, +1. They shouldn't have Facebook accounts at their age. Twitter may have been more sensible (then again.. nevermind, I don't want to start a huge discussion :) ).
@lindahayles, -1. They would have been safe by calling 000 themselves.
@WisTex, "exploring the tunnels", wtf? They shouldn't have been there in the first place. They wouldn't have gotten "lost" if they didn't go "exploring". And as said earlier, they could've/should've called 000 themselves.
@Owen Kelly, good arguments. In this case though, those wouldn't hold strong.
@Name, also good arguments, but these are young girls, they could have gotten themselves into more serious danger. What if one fell and injured their self, would they still have updated their Facebook status rather than calling 000? (I sure hope not! :|) But to stick to the point, again as said before, they shouldn't have been there to begin with.
All in all, I'm glad they're safe. Hope this goes out as a message to other "lost" kids, don't update your status, at least BEFORE you call 911/000.
Whether they updated for fun or not vs help is not really clear. The article says that it wasn't clear they thought they really were in danger. I am not sure the kids didn't just think it was "cool" to be stuck down there in the beginning. anytime weird things happen, people update their pages. It doesn't mean they were dumb... just caught up in how odd their circumstances were.
You might aswell ring 000, they just to be noticed.
And by SNS-ing their situation, the "what-if-it-is-too-late" suddenly becomes comfortable to live with. "O, it's okay, we 'tweeted' it. If we die here, at least they know where we are." Unlike calling the authorities, they won't give you a chance to "explore" and "experience" stuff.
I agree, their friends did the right thing.
-- They could also have called the authorities first, then they can tweet all they like afterwards. Which is what's probably going to happen if one is lost or trapped in the mountains or some cave.
That being said, walking through storm sewers is very dangerous, something kids usually do not think about, or if they do think about it, they believe nothing bad will happen to them. They shouldn't have then there in the first place, and since they felt they were not in danger, they probably had no desire to call someone who would get them in trouble. Although, ironically, posting it on Facebook for everyone they know to see... well that wasn't too smart if you were trying to not get in trouble. LOL
I think this case, in a way, caused something positive. The use of SNS for emergency purposes (whether the girls used it to get help or just to jot down their experience), will now prompt the authorities, NGOs, and concerned citizens to prepare.
Probably for us who were born before the social-network and social-media era will find these actions crazy, but to today's generation it will be the first thing to popped into their minds - micro-blogging.
You cannot talk well enough to be understood (injured or background noise).
You don't feel you could get the message out effectively.
You know that someone else can raise the alarm better than you (due to injury or ineffectiveness to communicate via voice).
In this case, they should have called. But the case at the end of the article, and that of say the journalist who managed to tweet "Arrested." are more than appropriate times to use something other than a phone call.
I stick by my comments that unless there's a big change before I hit 25 (I'm 16 now) the world is going to turn to dust at the hands of the idiots that are, my generation.
hahaha. (jk)
Side note...are 10 and 12 year olds supposed to be allowed on Facebook?
Another young fellow in lost in Mountains called 000 three times , spoke to 3 different people and still died because he couldn't get his message across about his exact location ...perhaps if he had updated his facebook status he might have had more of a chance.
Or it's possible they didn't have service to make a call, but had enough to update their status. There isn't enough evidence here to decide they're brain dead.
Well a Twitter account wont harm I mean to say.
As the article says, I suppose they may have had problems with battery. Being young folk as well they may not have realised that 000 is still free from mobile phones. Most other "free calls" aren't free from mobile phones in Australia, so a lot of people are confused as to whether 000 is free or not from a mobile phone. More of a concern for young people who tend to rely upon prepaid plans.
Also, even if they've poor reception, 000 calls will attempt to connect to any available network (even ones they're not a customer of).
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/chic...
www.blackboxstrategy.net
The problem is not at all that the girls use social media too much, but that the way they chose to call for help was not optimum. There is a difference between "too much" and "wrong time and place".
at ANY age if your STUCK in a stormdrain you would call 911/000 whoot ever it is and be like "help me damn it!". how ever this is a question into the current youth of today! i mean i am 18 and i use facebook and im gonna be honest and say i log into it everyday. But if im STUCK somewhere i am not going to update my status and say "oh dear, im in a stormdrain, halp? plz,K,Thx,Bai." im more incline to hit up the emergency services and ask them for help.
i think its due to the fact everyone is growing up in a social media society, and people need to teach there kids that facebook dosn't come first when you are in danger/stuck/being stupid.
Other comments on battery life etc don't hold water because launching a browser on the phone and connecting to the internet take far more power than a phone call and are separate to the SMS channels.
It's important to reinforce that social media is just another thing that absorbs kids attention and they should STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER/PHONE. Every family needs to talk to their kids about emergencies including putting an ICE contact at the top of their mobile in case they are found unconscious.
To Linsey and other trumpeters of Facebook it is important that all communication tools have their strengths and weaknesses and getting help fast ISN'T a strength of Facebooks. Plain and simple, kids need to still have safety talks and parents need to limit social media to other brain enhancing things like reading, writing and making things. (Please don't respond with how great the writing is online)