The Emergency Messages from the Federal Emergency Agency

On October Third, 2018, the nation received the first Presidential Alert through their cellular device. The message was sent to everyone who has a phone that is registered under a United States cell phone number. The purpose of the message was to test the Federal Emergency Agency’s new program that was created for national emergencies. This event relates closely to the topics discussed in chapters one, three, and six.

The alert utilizes the use of mass media because the message is communicated to a large group of people.

The evolution of telephones has made this alert effective and particle for the reason that five billion people are in possession of a mobile phone. Alerts for horrible weather conditions and amber alerts have been proven to be successful, but nothing has been done on a board scale from the White House directly.

The ability to send an alert leads to other forms of communication through our phones. Cell phones have provided the government with a way to text, surveillance, and track United States citizens. Presidential Alert, The evaluation of Cell Phones The technology used for cell phones first went underway in 1843 when Michael Faraday, an analytical chemist, did research about space. He wanted to know if space was able to generate electricity(Techwalla). The first type of phone was the car phone which weighed around 80 pounds and made it impossible to transport. Due to its popularity, during the 1940s, people were placed on the waiting list for up to 10-15 years, and existing phone users waited up to thirty minutes to place a cal (business insiders).

The first experience with a push-to-talk system was through a Radio Common Carrier (RCC) in the 1960s. It was used by soldiers. It was generated by a public telephone network, and it required a specific telephone number. Marty Cooper, the Motorola engineer, was the first person who made a phone call from a “real handheld portable cell phone” in April of 1973. This discovery set the foundation and evaluation of handheld cellular deception, the best chance of the invention of the first iPhone in 2007(Read Write). Originally the sole purpose of a phone was to provide people with the opportunity to communicate and stay connected with people no matter the distance. Compared to payphones and landlines, a cell phone allows a person to make calls while on the go.

As the phone became a part of our daily lives, new features started to emerge. Such as “Call-waiting, built-in answering machines, and three-way calling” are just some of the changes that have helped with the evaluation of phones(Techwalla). Nowadays, phones have features that may seem innocent, but it has taken away from the sole purpose of a phone and silently intruded on a person’s privacy. A built-in camera allows the government and other systems to watch a person’s every move; having access to the internet makes it easy for a person’s browser history to be traced, and GPS systems make it susceptible for a person’s every move to be tracked. Cell phones have evolved to contain all of the person’s personal information.

The creation of phones has led to the creation of mobile applications which allow a person to download software on a mobile device. Apps have access to a person’s phone and email contacts, call history, intel about a device’s location, and unique capabilities about the device. If the application that person has downloaded is hacked, this makes a person’s personal information susceptible to being public. The accessibility to these apps has created a privacy risk and has made people’s personal information predisposed to people who may have malicious intent and secretive government activity.

Impact of nationwide Alerts The nation recently experienced a natural disaster known as hurricane Florence. Although information about upcoming weather and storms is available and easily accessible, many people are unaware of the true conditions and the risks. The alert incorporated by the local state government creates a mandatory awareness of all people and ownership of a cellular device. The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system was created in 2012; this form of communication has been used over 40,000 times to alert people about “dangerous weather, missing children [amber alerts] …other critical situations” (fcc.gov).

The system is able to notify people who are geographically targeted and are in possession of a certain wireless cellular device. The purpose of the message is to broadcast an approaching threat to their safety in the area. WEA broadcasts the message through the outlet of radio technology. A cell tower delivers it to mobile devices in the area; this prevents the WEA from knowing who receives it[weather. gov]. As the cell phone became universal in the 2000s, this boosted the need for nationwide alerts. United States citizens sensed their government’s lack of authority during Hurricane Katrina, which sparked the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System(IPAWS).

This system was not a success because it allowed carriers to opt for the messages. Alerts from the president were done during the cold world through radio and television. Technology has made it effective through a mobile devices. Technological drawbacks. Although there are a lot of benefits to the alert system, it abuses the capabilities of mass communication, grants access to surveillance, and takes over the need for print media.

At the beginning of the year, a false alarm alert was sent to residents in Hawaii. The message read “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII” and was sent to smartphone users. The message was also shared among broadcast media through IPAWS. The alert was unsuccessful because the missile did not exist. The alert was sent by accident and created terror amongst Hawaiian residents (The atlantic.com). United States citizens strongly disagree with the president having the ability to send text messages directly to our mobile devices. People have tried to “threaten their wireless carriers or cancel their service,” along with turning their phones off until the alert expired as a form of protest. Those who do not agree with the president in office view the alert as “Donald trump sliding into the nation’s collective D.M.s [Direct Message].”

Smartphone users deem unwanted Presidential alerts as a breach of trust and privacy. The message is not directly from the president; they are sent by the Emergency Action Notification (EAN). Traditional media Content is “broadcast through a pre-determined, pre-arranged schedule”; this information is used to rely heavily on newspapers and local radio stations. Digitized content is “Through digital production and distribution…content can be available at any time of the day”. Mobile phones have granted the government the opportunity to digitalize the content Americans receive. The effects of technology will have a significant impact on the use of local and nationwide news stations.

A person will no longer need the news if a person can receive an alert about what is going directly to their phone. What’s Next The telephone has played a vital role in the variety of communication patterns used today. Nationwide text alerts can transcend into calls, facetime, or even hallow gram alerts. The use of alerts raises some concern among Americans as they view the alert system as being used frequently. This demonstrates the lack of trust in U.S. citizen view of their government. As technology develops, the more information people provide, which in return provides the government with the proper information. This can lead to everything being mandated by the government, from the information we receive to what people are allowed to research. Citizens no longer have privacy, and it all stemmed from an innocent communication device.

Did you like this example?

254

13