Look what the media did.......

tghe-retford

Except what we're seeing now as a counteraction to emergency alerts and the Government is people going so far in the other direction to actively state that the UK has no natural or man-made disasters such as flooding, wildfires, earthquakes, explosions, terror attacks and so forth.

It is bad to live in constant fear. It is also bad to live in constant ignorance.

Sea_Shell

tghe-retford said:

Except what we're seeing now as a counteraction to emergency alerts and the Government is people going so far in the other direction to actively state that the UK has no natural or man-made disasters such as flooding, wildfires, earthquakes, explosions, terror attacks and so forth.

It is bad to live in constant fear. It is also bad to live in constant ignorance.

It seems the media don't want us just to be "aware".    They want us to be scared....Into clicking or buying! 

Yes, all those things CAN happen (and have) in the UK, but luckily they are rare.

But they ARE scary things if we allow ourselves to dwell on the "what ifs".

Sadly some people hear a warning, or an alert about something, and immediately go to DEFCON 1...and stay there.    That's not a healthy way to live.


Admittedly, there are also some that never get more worried than DEFCON 5.   "Yeah, wotever" , which can have it's own consequences.  

MultiFuelBurner

Anxiety levels must still be high following covid, now the energy crisis, inflation, cost of living  followed by.........whatever the media drums up to get clicks on feeds.

As for these emergency alerts

People.that live in flood areas must know that by now or have looked it up. 

Wildfires, if we do as a country heat up each year this could become someone slowly over the next few decades.

Earthquakes? In the UK do happen regularly but not on a scale to cause devastation.

Terror attacks, again most are thwarted and a geographical warning could cause more panic than us necessary and do more.garm than good.

Sea_Shell

Oh, and if you've got a "secret" second phone, make sure it's turned off, and not just on silent!!!    


On a serious note though, Refuge are actually quite worried for victims of domestic abuse who may have one hidden, as a lifeline.  

prowla

Well, arguably the energy prices support came about because of the media's fear-mongering.

MattMattMattUK

prowla said:

Well, arguably the energy prices support came about because of the media's fear-mongering.

It may have, but it also needs to be asked if on balance it was a good thing. The EPG probably was because it had a significant impact on inflation, probably keeping inflation 2-3% lower than it would otherwise have been, the cost whilst high and adding a significant chunk to government debt was not as bad as the headline cost due to the reduction in inflation and the fact that winter energy wholesale prices did not go as high as worst case estimates. The EBSS was an expensive (£11.4 billion) bribe and served no real purpose, it's origins were before the EPG was announced, once the EPG was announced the EBSS should have been cancelled. Those on benefits were also given handouts which would have covered most of their winter energy usage so they had already been largely insulated against the rising energy costs. 

70sbudgie

oldagetraveller1 said:

I wonder how many will be in sheer panic mode on 23rd April when the "Government's" emergency message is blasting out on their phones?

I suspect it will mostly be those who have been totally brainwashed by the MSM over the last three years.

And don't know how to switch off the function in the settings? Mine is, even the "earthquake alert"!

Thank you for this. I only pay sporadic attention to mainstream media and had missed the articles on this. I have now looked it up and put a reminder in our family calendar to try to prevent my daughter (who has only recently been allowed a mobile phone and is still getting used to it) from having a panic attack! 

Spoonie_Turtle

MattMattMattUK said:

prowla said:

Well, arguably the energy prices support came about because of the media's fear-mongering.

It may have, but it also needs to be asked if on balance it was a good thing. The EPG probably was because it had a significant impact on inflation, probably keeping inflation 2-3% lower than it would otherwise have been, the cost whilst high and adding a significant chunk to government debt was not as bad as the headline cost due to the reduction in inflation and the fact that winter energy wholesale prices did not go as high as worst case estimates. The EBSS was an expensive (£11.4 billion) bribe and served no real purpose, it's origins were before the EPG was announced, once the EPG was announced the EBSS should have been cancelled. Those on benefits were also given handouts which would have covered most of their winter energy usage so they had already been largely insulated against the rising energy costs. 

I'm going to keep countering this point every time I see it - the Cost of Living Payments may have theoretically covered energy costs but they were NOT solely for energy, they were because the cost of almost everything (especially food) has skyrocketed.

MultiFuelBurner

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MattMattMattUK said:

prowla said:

Well, arguably the energy prices support came about because of the media's fear-mongering.

It may have, but it also needs to be asked if on balance it was a good thing. The EPG probably was because it had a significant impact on inflation, probably keeping inflation 2-3% lower than it would otherwise have been, the cost whilst high and adding a significant chunk to government debt was not as bad as the headline cost due to the reduction in inflation and the fact that winter energy wholesale prices did not go as high as worst case estimates. The EBSS was an expensive (£11.4 billion) bribe and served no real purpose, it's origins were before the EPG was announced, once the EPG was announced the EBSS should have been cancelled. Those on benefits were also given handouts which would have covered most of their winter energy usage so they had already been largely insulated against the rising energy costs. 

I'm going to keep countering this point every time I see it - the Cost of Living Payments may have theoretically covered energy costs but they were NOT solely for energy, they were because the cost of almost everything (especially food) has skyrocketed.

I would put forward that the cost of living payments circa £900 could easily be split in the mind to 50/50 energy and food increases. So agree not all for energy but maybe 50% should have been allocated.

Spoonie_Turtle

MultiFuelBurner said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MattMattMattUK said:

prowla said:

Well, arguably the energy prices support came about because of the media's fear-mongering.

It may have, but it also needs to be asked if on balance it was a good thing. The EPG probably was because it had a significant impact on inflation, probably keeping inflation 2-3% lower than it would otherwise have been, the cost whilst high and adding a significant chunk to government debt was not as bad as the headline cost due to the reduction in inflation and the fact that winter energy wholesale prices did not go as high as worst case estimates. The EBSS was an expensive (£11.4 billion) bribe and served no real purpose, it's origins were before the EPG was announced, once the EPG was announced the EBSS should have been cancelled. Those on benefits were also given handouts which would have covered most of their winter energy usage so they had already been largely insulated against the rising energy costs. 

I'm going to keep countering this point every time I see it - the Cost of Living Payments may have theoretically covered energy costs but they were NOT solely for energy, they were because the cost of almost everything (especially food) has skyrocketed.

I would put forward that the cost of living payments circa £900 could easily be split in the mind to 50/50 energy and food increases. So agree not all for energy but maybe 50% should have been allocated.

Actually £650 last year, for means-tested benefits.  The forthcoming £900 is ~£600 this year and £300 next.

Agree some of it ideally should have helped towards energy, but some people on this board tend to view the entire payment as 'for energy', ignoring all the rest of the extra costs of living (even though the clue is in the name … ).