General News Thread

[Trav Le Bleu]

8 hours ago, Sampson said:

15 years ago I think many (myself included) would've told you the internet was the best invention inhuman history and would bring anout greater knowledge, greater empathy seeing more people's struggles and bring us a closer and economically more well off.

 

Now I think a lot of us have just realised that the internet does more harm than good. Most people feel worse off economically as they did in the mid-90s when the internet took off - there's fewer jobs and even the jobs that do exist change so frequently its muuch harder to build a stable career in one discipline now, it's also caused people to be way less social in real life and it be way harder to make genuine long lasting friends and romantic relationships, people have less friends, less sex. Which I thinks leads to so much of increasing mental health issues as people just feel lonelier.

 

Everyone feels watched all the time too, social media outrage culture (on both the left and right - of both virtue signalling and vice signaling) means you can't take risks and do stupid things and **** up and make mistakes anymore (which you're supposed to be able to do especially in your teens and twenties) without being piled on and have permanent posts about you easily googleable by employees -it's impossible to "make one heap of all your winnings, And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss" anymore.

 

I think the reason a lot of us are so fearful of AI is that its going to be all the negative sides of the internet on steroids and after the internet hasn't brought about the abundance promised, its hard not to be cynical that AI won't either.

Fortnite, incels and porn ftw!

[Trav Le Bleu]

8 hours ago, Rubbersoul said:

Im a grown man and pretty secure in my mental wellbeing but there’s a huge difference in how I feel mentally when I haven’t been on social media for a few days. 
 

So I can see how bad it can be for teenagers

I feel better mentally when I've not been in the football section of this forum.

[Parafox]

7 hours ago, davieG said:

They need to go on something like the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Maybe even compulsory for those unemployed. 

 

Duke of Edinburgh's Award (DofE) is a youth development and achievement program for young people aged 14 to 24. Participants complete personal activities across progressive Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels, building life skills, confidence, and independence by volunteering, getting active, learning new skills, and going on expeditions.

I'm old now and of a different era where innocent play, with some edgy risk taking as a fledgling teen was the norm.

 

I had decent parenting but I knew I could be rebellious and possibly overstep the mark. I wasn't great at school and got into trouble several times

 

One of the best things that happened for me was joining the Police Service as a cadet aged 17. (1972 btw)

 

The team building, the confidence building, the respect and values for people and the work ethic that it instilled in me has benefitted me throughout my life.

 

It wasn't D of E but it wasn't far off.

 

Some of my friends have had their kids take the D o E course and, without exception they have been all the better and more rounded because of it.

 

And having that on your CV goes a long way with potential employers.

[westernpark]

No sympathy for those or their relatives who died in the police chase, except the police officers. The police officers were clearly outstanding people who didn’t deserve to die like that.

[Super_horns]

1 hour ago, westernpark said:

No sympathy for those or their relatives who died in the police chase, except the police officers. The police officers were clearly outstanding people who didn’t deserve to die like that.

Yes tragic for the families and friends of those two officers just trying to doe their job and stop these thugs speeding.

 

 

[AoWW]

I can’t begin to get my head around what it must be like to be a member of the public, driving along on a typically mundane day, and suddenly come across a horrific crash like those on the A66 and in Northern Ireland recently.

 

My thoughts are not only with the innocent victims, but also the people first on the scene. To be confronted with something so traumatic in the blink of an eye, with no warning whatsoever, must be utterly devastating. I can’t imagine how you process something like that, or whether you ever truly get over it.

 

The emergency services deserve our absolute respect and admiration. They do an extraordinary job in the most dreadful circumstances, and I have no doubt that attending incidents like these affect them deeply. They are, though, trained and (somewhat) prepared for what they may encounter, and hopefully have access to appropriate support afterwards. But for an unsuspecting member of the public there is no preparation at all. Carrying that memory for the rest of your life is unimaginable, and my heart goes out to anyone who has found themselves in that position. 

[Mark_w]

1 hour ago, westernpark said:

No sympathy for those or their relatives who died in the police chase, except the police officers. The police officers were clearly outstanding people who didn’t deserve to die like that.

No sympathy for their relatives?

They weren't all five driving it were they, what do you expect a 17 year old back seat passenger to do about one of their mates being a reckless idiot in a car they're in? Ideally they wouldn't be in the car, but you'd think for at least one or two of them that's going to be all they've done wrong here.

There's clearly an awful lot of stupidity in that car. But feeling the need to go out of you way to announce that you don't care about the impact on families who've lost teenage kids? Bit much really isn't it.

[Foxdiamond]

44 minutes ago, Mark_w said:

No sympathy for their relatives?

They weren't all five driving it were they, what do you expect a 17 year old back seat passenger to do about one of their mates being a reckless idiot in a car they're in? Ideally they wouldn't be in the car, but you'd think for at least one or two of them that's going to be all they've done wrong here.

There's clearly an awful lot of stupidity in that car. But feeling the need to go out of you way to announce that you don't care about the impact on families who've lost teenage kids? Bit much really isn't it.

I wonder if that was the first time they allowed themselves to be a passenger in a reckless situation. Of course their families don't deserve this but I wonder if in time they will reflect on why the younger ones in particular were out at half past three in the morning with others putting innocent lives in danger. 

[Brizzle Fox]

7 hours ago, Foxdiamond said:

I wonder if that was the first time they allowed themselves to be a passenger in a reckless situation. Of course their families don't deserve this but I wonder if in time they will reflect on why the younger ones in particular were out at half past three in the morning with others putting innocent lives in danger. 

Apparently they were a known bunch of scum bags from a long line of scum bags.

 

Car thiefs, terrorising the local community etc.

 

I can understand why sympathy for them and theirs would be in short supply, similar to the Tik Tok gypsies in Ireland.

 

However the poor policemen in Middlesborough and that family who were off on their holiday in Ireland, killed and seriously injured by these criminals, deserve all of our sympathies.

 

[LCFCJohn]

Just for anyone who has sympathy with the 5 scroats in the car.

 

One of the PC at least, Matthew Blades, in the statement from his wife, refers to 2 young sons. 
 

Imagine those young boys running downstairs on Saturday morning to see if their dad is home from work yet….

 

Imagine when their birthdays come around and the first Christmas without their dad…

 

Then tell me you have sympathy for the ‘5’.

[Raj]

10 hours ago, Mark_w said:

No sympathy for their relatives?

They weren't all five driving it were they, what do you expect a 17 year old back seat passenger to do about one of their mates being a reckless idiot in a car they're in? Ideally they wouldn't be in the car, but you'd think for at least one or two of them that's going to be all they've done wrong here.

There's clearly an awful lot of stupidity in that car. But feeling the need to go out of you way to announce that you don't care about the impact on families who've lost teenage kids? Bit much really isn't it.

 

 

You really presume the back seat passenger had no idea what they were going to be upto or had never done that before taking into account that could of the lads had already posed tiktoks of themselves being chased by cops.

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, LCFCJohn said:

Just for anyone who has sympathy with the 5 scroats in the car.

 

One of the PC at least, Matthew Blades, in the statement from his wife, refers to 2 young sons. 
 

Imagine those young boys running downstairs on Saturday morning to see if their dad is home from work yet….

 

Imagine when their birthdays come around and the first Christmas without their dad…

 

Then tell me you have sympathy for the ‘5’.

I think the majority of people probably fall into this category and rightly so. Only 2 people were innocent in this incident (Just image though if the lads in the cars were non white natives...Jesus christ the backlash wouldnt have been worth thinking about)

[LCFCJohn]

1 hour ago, Raj said:

I think the majority of people probably fall into this category and rightly so. Only 2 people were innocent in this incident (Just image though if the lads in the cars were non white natives...Jesus christ the backlash wouldnt have been worth thinking about)

Yeah I’m sure most do. Absolutely heart wrenching thought though of what is has done to those 2 families 

 

On your second point, you’re absolutely correct of course. But wouldn’t want to make this political at all but yes I agree with you and what you are saying.

[ramboacdc]

1 hour ago, LCFCJohn said:

Just for anyone who has sympathy with the 5 scroats in the car.

 

One of the PC at least, Matthew Blades, in the statement from his wife, refers to 2 young sons. 
 

Imagine those young boys running downstairs on Saturday morning to see if their dad is home from work yet….

 

Imagine when their birthdays come around and the first Christmas without their dad…

 

Then tell me you have sympathy for the ‘5’.

One of the 18 year olds, the one with the TikTok account, had a 1 year old himself. Another kid without their dad. Poor kid is innocent in all this, but his dad and those others are morons. 

I see they are doing some balloon releases for them over the next few days and the families have been keeping low to the ground when it comes to public statements or anything like that. They know they will get zero sympathy and backlash from folks.  

 

 

[Raj]

41 minutes ago, ramboacdc said:

One of the 18 year olds, the one with the TikTok account, had a 1 year old himself. Another kid without their dad. Poor kid is innocent in all this, but his dad and those others are morons. 

I see they are doing some balloon releases for them over the next few days and the families have been keeping low to the ground when it comes to public statements or anything like that. They know they will get zero sympathy and backlash from folks.  

 

 

Which it makes it even more moronic behaviour from the 18 year old.

 

Hope the Coppers colleagues aren't at the scene at the same time when these balloon releases are being done by the families.

 

[bovril]

Haven't really been following the news but am I right that there have been 2 separate crashes in the UK both involving five teenagers driving the wrong way, one of whom was Polish? Bit weird. 

[Foxdiamond]

7 minutes ago, bovril said:

Haven't really been following the news but am I right that there have been 2 separate crashes in the UK both involving five teenagers driving the wrong way, one of whom was Polish? Bit weird. 

One of the incidents happened in the Republic of Ireland

[bovril]

Just now, Foxdiamond said:

One of the incidents happened in the Republic of Ireland

Should've got it from the names but could still be UK and saw 'M9' which made me think it was here.

 

Still, bit of a weird coincidence.

[Fox92]

On 22/08/2026 at 17:32, LCFCJohn said:

Social media is absolutely pointless and a cesspit. 
 

Keeping in contact with people is good but you only need the likes of WhatsApp and Messenger, so messaging apps rather than the actual social media for that. The only one I have is Facebook and I only retain that as the one benefit is being aware of what is happening locally, such as the village groups we have and the wider Sheffield area. Other than that, there are no benefits at all. You get stuff like this, political hatred spreading, people getting fame for being completely talentless. The ban for under 16’s is great and I sincerely hope it creates better future generations.

 

As for this incident, you just know the 5 in the other car are going to be males under the age of 20 don’t you….

Complete cesspit, especially the likes of TikTok and Snapchat which seem to be the absolute worse.

 

I keep myself well away from it all (I only use Reddit) but it's a shame to see kids addicted from such an early age now. It's not good for anybody. Social media needs to be binned.

[LCFCJohn]

1 hour ago, ramboacdc said:

One of the 18 year olds, the one with the TikTok account, had a 1 year old himself. Another kid without their dad. Poor kid is innocent in all this, but his dad and those others are morons. 

I see they are doing some balloon releases for them over the next few days and the families have been keeping low to the ground when it comes to public statements or anything like that. They know they will get zero sympathy and backlash from folks.  

 

 

As @Rajsays, even worse! This is a guy who is supposed to be raising that child? 
 

I suppose the saving grace there is that that child can only have a better future not having this influence in his/her life, despite how it might feel now. 
 

Whereas the kids of the PCs are going to have such positive role models missing from their lives now. 
 

Honestly, the more that comes out about what these individuals had been doing previously, it goes to show that it is not a case of poor, misunderstood kids who did one thing wrong and paid the price. This was clearly repeated behaviour over a long period of time. Even driving at speed off road and where people could be walking.

 

Even when you take the emotion out of it, the world is a safer and better place with them gone. The alternatives would have been them continuing to pull this shit or even if they’d been caught and prosecuted, they have been out in a few years and back at it. It’s devastating that the police officers were victims here and for all families involved. But there might be many more saved in the future directly through these and the ones in Ireland not being able to do this anymore and indirectly if the shocking nature of 2 such incidents in a week forces there to be changes aimed at preventing this happening.

[Super_horns]

3 hours ago, Raj said:

 

 

You really presume the back seat passenger had no idea what they were going to be upto or had never done that before taking into account that could of the lads had already posed tiktoks of themselves being chased by cops.

 

 

 

I think the majority of people probably fall into this category and rightly so. Only 2 people were innocent in this incident (Just image though if the lads in the cars were non white natives...Jesus christ the backlash wouldnt have been worth thinking about)

Egged on by certain politicians too but as said main thing this from this tragedy is two men have lose their lives so innocently just being at work .

 

 

[Raj]

7 minutes ago, Super_horns said:

Egged on by certain politicians too but as said main thing this from this tragedy is two men have lose their lives so innocently just being at work .

 

 

Not just being at work, serving their communities and trying to make a positive difference rather than the scums in the car.

Sorry i feel so passionately about this but having been a special copper for 4-5 years i know what bad press cops get but 99% are sound caring people who gets loads of sh1t

[LCFCJohn]

55 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

Complete cesspit, especially the likes of TikTok and Snapchat which seem to be the absolute worse.

 

I keep myself well away from it all (I only use Reddit) but it's a shame to see kids addicted from such an early age now. It's not good for anybody. Social media needs to be binned.

Agreed. As I say, there’s a place for basic use, being aware of what is happening in the local area etc.

 

But the vast majority, and the ones your mention specifically, I am yet to hear anyone have an argument for anything positive they add to society. All about influencers (talentless people who should get a real job) and damaging mental health, and now adding real dangers to our communities with the fire starting thing and now this driving stunt. 
 

We must sound about 60! Only early 30’s, promise!

[LCFCJohn]

10 minutes ago, Raj said:

Not just being at work, serving their communities and trying to make a positive difference rather than the scums in the car.

Sorry i feel so passionately about this but having been a special copper for 4-5 years i know what bad press cops get but 99% are sound caring people who gets loads of sh1t

Didn’t know you had that career history. Fair play to you!

 

Honestly, just look at the photos of the 2 PCs compared to the photos of the 5. Doesn’t even need any words. 2 warm and genuinely caring, happy faces. And 5 wannabe gangsters.

[leicsmac]

11 minutes ago, LCFCJohn said:

Agreed. As I say, there’s a place for basic use, being aware of what is happening in the local area etc.

 

But the vast majority, and the ones your mention specifically, I am yet to hear anyone have an argument for anything positive they add to society. All about influencers (talentless people who should get a real job) and damaging mental health, and now adding real dangers to our communities with the fire starting thing and now this driving stunt. 
 

We must sound about 60! Only early 30’s, promise!

I've said this before here, but imo social media acts as a force multiplier, for both good and bad. 

 

It's just unfortunate that currently holding up the mirror to the souls of far too many humans is showing exactly how bad they are. 

[LCFCJohn]

4 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

I've said this before here, but imo social media acts as a force multiplier, for both good and bad. 

 

It's just unfortunate that currently holding up the mirror to the souls of far too many humans is showing exactly how bad they are. 

Social media but also gaming.

 

Imagine these guys have been brought up playing driving games. When you crash, a new life pops up and off you go again. Now when those of us who had games growing (games console games), we knew they were just games. Suddenly, the introduction of social media, videos glorifying what they have played with on their consoles, they just feel like they are in the game and invincible.