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Social media and disasters: a functional framework for social media use in disaster planning, response, and research
Author(s) -
Houston J. Brian,
Hawthorne Joshua,
Perreault Mildred F.,
Park Eun Hae,
Goldstein Hode Marlo,
Halliwell Michael R.,
Turner McGowen Sarah E.,
Davis Rachel,
Vaid Shivani,
McElderry Jonathan A.,
Griffith Stanford A.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
disasters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-7717
pISSN - 0361-3666
DOI - 10.1111/disa.12092
Subject(s) - social media , disaster research , emergency management , preparedness , disaster preparedness , government (linguistics) , public relations , variety (cybernetics) , poison control , political science , business , computer science , world wide web , geography , medical emergency , medicine , linguistics , philosophy , artificial intelligence , meteorology , law
A comprehensive review of online, official, and scientific literature was carried out in 2012–13 to develop a framework of disaster social media. This framework can be used to facilitate the creation of disaster social media tools, the formulation of disaster social media implementation processes, and the scientific study of disaster social media effects. Disaster social media users in the framework include communities, government, individuals, organisations, and media outlets. Fifteen distinct disaster social media uses were identified, ranging from preparing and receiving disaster preparedness information and warnings and signalling and detecting disasters prior to an event to (re)connecting community members following a disaster. The framework illustrates that a variety of entities may utilise and produce disaster social media content. Consequently, disaster social media use can be conceptualised as occurring at a number of levels, even within the same disaster. Suggestions are provided on how the proposed framework can inform future disaster social media development and research.