THE BATTLEFORDS — Did you know your phone can accidentally call emergency services for you? I didn’t.
And it wasn’t until a chilly 10:42 a.m. precisely, on Jan. 6, in my ignorance, I was quickly educated.
I was sitting in the News-Optimist parking lot and making a phone call. Afterwards, I dropped my phone in the cup holder and went to put the key in the ignition. Only after turning the key did I take pause.
Distantly, I heard a siren. I paused, listening, turning off the car. Then, I noticed that the screen on my phone was flashing. And it might have been due to the cold flash of fear that enveloped my body, or my furious, panic-filled blinking, but I think my phone was flashing red and white.
I raced to turn off the volume, but even on its lowest setting, it was still whirring, hooting, hopping, whirling and popping. At first, in my haze, I assumed it was an emergency alert. Then, I wondered what new-fangled emergency alert was underway. I imagined that the bombs had dropped, the government had collapsed, and the country had descended into anarchy. I waited for people to race out of their homes.
Walmart had already been sacked.
Staring at my phone slack-jawed, I saw it was calling emergency services. Thankfully, I could hang up in time, but I didn’t know that at the time. North Battleford Fire Department is just across the street from the News-Optimist, and I watched in horror as a firetruck rolled out of the building.
I closed my eyes and accepted my fate. When I opened my eyes, I was alone. According to my phone, my location was being tracked, so I didn’t dare drive. I assumed that emergency services would think I’d stolen the car and try and run me off the road to stop the grand theft auto in progress.
Finally, after what felt like hours, I drove home shaking, waiting and watching for sirens and flashing lights in my rear-view mirror.
So, as it stands, our phones can do all levels of miraculous things, including phoning emergency services if you press the power button five times. Granted, this is on my Galaxy S21, but it’s called Emergency SOS.
It’s brilliant, in theory. I imagine many lives could be saved with this Emergency SOS, which can even send your pinpointed location to your emergency contacts, but it would save more lives if people knew it was there. It also comes turned on automatically, so just a heads up.
We can also change the vibration patterns on our phones; Google Assistant can make reservations for you, some phones allow you to charge devices wirelessly by resting them on your phone’s back and you can have your phone erase its data after 20 incorrect attempts at your password.
As phones make up an increasing portion of our lives, I wonder what else they can do. Will there come a time when they can do our kid’s homework, brush our teeth, and write our emails? Who knows.
But I know one thing for sure. Always remember to read the tips and trick manual that comes with your phone becuse who knows what else they can do for us?
