University of Virginia faculty members regularly publish a variety of books, and not just in their academic disciplines. Extending the group of UVA authors to alumni yields many titles for readers to choose from at any given time.The selected list he
When emergency alerts are hard to distinguish from text messages and when they announce the availability of vaccines rather than an impending tornado, are they still emergency alerts?
COVID-19 messages make emergency alerts just another text in the crowd on your home screen
Elizabeth Ellcessor, University of Virginia
June 9, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail Elizabeth Ellcessor, University of Virginia
(THE CONVERSATION) On a spring day in 2020, residents of El Paso, Texas, saw their phones light up with a text message: “Avoid parks/family gatherings this Easter. Stay home, stay safe. Do it for your loved ones.”
This message, sent via the federal Wireless Emergency Alert system, was one of many designed to deliver COVID-19-related guidance directly to people’s cellphones.
COVID-19-related messages are a new use of this alert system. They indicate changing ideas about what constitutes an emergency and underscore the challenges of public messaging in a personalized media environment.