In the early hours of Feb. 24, my phone — like the phones of thousands in the area — received an Amber Alert for three-year-old Elinor Trotta, who was allegedly abducted by her father and considered to be in immediate danger.
When I attempted to look further into the matter, my efforts were briefly halted when I came upon a disturbing article published by Philadelphia Magazine. The article showcased multiple tweets about the Amber Alert, exposing the selfishness and ignorance of those in our society.
The tweets were complaints by those who had been woken up by the Amber Alert and weren’t too happy about it.
I am absolutely appalled by those who took this action. Just to think about all the steps one needed to go through (wake up from the alert, realize you’re unhappy about being awake, thinking “that s–t was annoying lol,” and then tweeting that thought) and never once pause to consider the family on the other end of the alert.
While your sleep was disturbed, a helpless child was being kidnapped by a potentially dangerous man. Do you think her mother got any sleep last night? Or do you think she was up all night worried sick about the safety of her child?
No you didn’t think of that, because some people are too self-involved to think that way.
One person told me that the timing of the alert should have been more thought-out. Sure … but then that would defeat the purpose.
The Amber Alert system is designed to spread information regarding abducted children as quickly as possible. This is to help authorities locate the child.
The system is named for Amber Hagerman, a nine-year-old who was abducted and killed in Texas in 1996. Her parents took it upon themselves to alert local and national media outlets and the FBI about their missing daughter, doing everything they could to expand search efforts. Devastatingly, four days later Amber’s body was discovered, and her killer was never found.
Out of Amber’s tragedy came the idea for the Amber Alert system, which took years to implement and tireless efforts by her parents.
But to all of the people out there who never again want to be disturbed by an Amber Alert, please go into your phone’s settings and adjust them accordingly.

Julia Casciato is the Opinion Editor at The Triangle. She can be contacted at julia.casciato@thetriangle.org.

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