Facebook debuted Safety Check, which was a tool on the social network that allowed you to connect with your family and friends during a disaster in your area. This tool is useful for the online folk all over the world since most people on the internet probably have a Facebook account and checking if someone is safe via this tool is a sure way to know that they are safe.
Earlier today, there was an unfortunate incident in Brussels Airport where there were explosions that left several people being feared dead and others injured. This caused panic in the area where we saw a video of people scampering for safety in the airport and images of planes avoiding the airspace on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/khalidkhan787/status/712178905751396352
No air planes being allowed to land at #Brussels airport after two explosions https://t.co/J7jGy5TvYy pic.twitter.com/Q0NF6qfwxB
— The Press and Journal (@pressjournal) March 22, 2016
This incident is one of those cases where Facebook’s Safety Check can be of great help and according to reports, the tool was activated so as to help people check up on each other.
Facebook activates its safety check system for Brussels explosions pic.twitter.com/UvjGASySWY
— David Wyllie (@journodave) March 22, 2016
As you'd expect, Facebook's safety check feature has been switched on in Brussels. Just got an alert that a friend is safe.
— Martin SFP Bryant (@MartinSFP) March 22, 2016
The feature is rather simple to use where when you see the pop up, you have two options where you can mark yourself as safe or you can check on your friends in your area and mark them as safe if you know they are okay. If you mark yourself or someone as “safe”, your friends will be notified of the update and as well, you can see notifications of friends who have been marked safe.
The Safety Check has had quite a lot of criticism where its previous policy was to be activated only for natural disasters only to Mark Zuckerberg announcing a change where it also includes human disasters as well. Facebook says it’s a work in progress but still it is proving an invaluable tool in this social media savvy age we are living in.
