I’d like to quickly draw your attention to this article. To summarise if you’re too pressed for time to check the link, or otherwise: this particular story tells of a ten and twelve year old who used Facebook to alert the world (or at least their friends, privacy settings permitting) that they were ‘caught’ in this storm water drain. One must ask: Why Facebook? Is this simply an issue of education (or fear: children being threatened with ‘death’ for misusing such a service) or were they bragging to their friends (and any other acquaintances).
What is concerning, is that if they were truely stuck down there (which is a very serious danger (think rain)) that the first port of call would be Triple-zero directly to the emergency services. If one can access Facebook from a mobile device, you would (efficiently) need either EDGE or 3G access. If either of these are available, a call to “000″1 or “112″1 will work.
Being not long graduated from childhood, I can understand the exploratory concept that these kids would have but I think that there should be a little more education concerning use of “000″. At least they were smart enough to take the device with them. Then again, echoing sentements from my first blog post here: such [expensive] toys are essentially sewn to the hip anyway.
On the lighter side of things: the telco that provided the service to these two individuals can now claim that they’re able to provide service to those who are underground (assuming they were in the depths of the storm water system).
Two very lucky individuals indeed.
1 For those who do not reside in Australia, 000 is our three digit emergency services access number like 911 in the US of A or 999 in the United Kingdom. 112 is the international wireless device equivalent which works regardless of whether the phone is PIN locked, IMEI barred, there is insufficient credit on prepay accounts, there is no SIM or USIM in the device or whether the operator of choice is out of service; providing the device works on a competing operators network frequency that is within range, 112 calls will piggyback on their network.