More on Social messaging

Thanks to all who responded to my post on the Age Concern messaging and it was interesting to see a wide range of views expressed. It seemed fairly evenly split between those who thought it was OK and those who didnt. There were many who thought the end justified the means. If we rescued a couple of lost souls it was worth riding roughshod over the rest of us!! It was the reverse of utilitarianism (working on principles of the greatest good for the greatest number of people) which is widely regarded as a public health principle. I think there is a danger in this approach that we become insensitive and callous in our desire to tick off the goals and objectives. We need to give personal issues the respect they deserve. This approach can also disempower communities and people opt out PDQ if they think people are over-riding them.

Others thought that because it wasn't relevant to them, it didnt matter. So what if we re-framed it? How about if you got an email asking you "Do you have a drinking problem Jane?" or similar. You probably dont, (though statistically speaking you may be surprised at how many people it would apply to) but you may well resent being asked this question, by a stranger, in a social media setting which is a public platform. To my mind, there's no difference between this question and the one posed by age concern, from a social/ethical standpoint. This is not an appropriate venue for this type of inquiry which is personal and sensitive.

If I had been asked to send this message around by an employer I would have refused, point blank. But I may have been more willing to send something around that posed some "what if" scenarios, e.g. "how many people have felt lonely this winter" ............ "If you have felt lonely recently.............. " " Would you consider being part of our visiting service?" and or "would you like to be involved in visiting others?" I dont think this would offend anyone and gives people the option of responding, putting them at the center of the process.

More messages from your neighbours

4 days ago

Today’s Mind-Bender is the Last of the Year! Can You Guess It Before Everyone Else? 🌟🎁🌲

The Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

I dance in the sky with green and gold, a spectacle few are lucky to behold; I’m best seen in the south, a celestial sight—what am I, lighting up the New Zealand night?

Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm on the day!

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3 days ago

Driven On The Akatarawa Rd Lately?

Marie from Waikanae

If so, its good to know you are still alive and reading this.

We have a function to go to over Christmas up that way and having heard a few hairy stories about the road, I went up there on Thursday to check it out. The road's ok, narrow and winding, but not much worse than a Wellington hill suburb. What was pretty scary was the behavior of other drivers. Three vehicles heading the other way at speed would have crashed into me if I hadn't been pulled off the road. I had pulled in to check the address when a truck came flying past, taking up all of the narrow road at speed. There is no way the driver would have been able to stop had they come around the corner immediately in front of me. The other two drivers came hurtling past as I had turned in to turn around and come back down the hill. They were also driving at speed and taking up most of the road. Coming back down I passed another car coming up and estimate that the safe speed to pass another car was about 30-35 kms.p.h. So, now we're thinking, do we go to the function or not.? Feels a bit like we're taking our life in our hands going up there. Drivers appear to be overconfident, and they are courting serious injury.