Hello… it’s me, President Trump with another National Wireless Alert.

President Trump may be replacing his Twitter with alerts that go straight to every American’s phone.

The alert stated that it was a test message and was used to see how well it would work, and most students didn’t know there was supposed to be one. Students are concerned about the ways President Trump will use it. The alerts could be used to replace conferences and meetings in the future.  

The presidential alert went out on Wednesday Oct. 3, at 2:18 pm ET. It simply stated that it was a test for the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. The purpose of these alerts is to inform the public if there is a national emergency. For example, if there was a deadly hurricane President Trump would send one out stating that there was a hurricane that would impact certain areas. Most students were unaware that there was going to be an alert, and because of that didn’t pay as much attention to it when it happened. Sophomore Rachel Johnson didn’t know there was supposed to be an alert and disregarded it when she received it.  “I’m not exactly sure. It showed up like a regular weather alert and said no action was necessary so I didn’t pay too much attention to it. I’ve seen other people post about getting it and I think it was the same message so I probably did,” said Johnson.

This is something that hasn’t been done before and because of that, there are some questions and concerns that students have. Johnson doesn’t see many ways that the presidential alerts could be used for good and is worried about the ways that they will be used. “I think it’s kind of scary and it brings up a lot of questions. Does this mean the government can watch what we’re doing at all times? What else can he do besides send a message to our phones? I think that this could be beneficial in certain situations, but it’s scary how much control technology has over our lives. I see this backfiring some way more than helping,” said Johnson.

Sophomore Emily Perryman and Sophomore Raeleigh Moore also think that it could go well but there is a chance that President Trump will use it in the wrong way. “I like the fact that if the U.S. was in danger he would be able to alert the media. On the other hand I do think it is dangerous because our numbers could get out to certain databases and hack/ take all of our information,” said Moore.

One of the main questions that students have are how the presidential alerts will be used in the future. There are some students that are afraid of the presidential alerts being used as President Trump’s new twitter. However, there is some hope among the students that these new alerts could be used in a more positive light. Johnson believes that there are a couple of ways the alerts can be used for good. “I hope that there isn’t a bad situation where he does [have to use the alerts], but there is that possibility. He could use it to send out a message for us that he doesn’t want to spend a whole press conference on. I think it’ll be interesting to see how this is used,” said Johnson. Moore likes the idea of being able to know that the president could alert the public if something ever goes horribly wrong in America.