Social Media in Disaster Risk Reduction and Crisis Management

• Published in: Science and engineering ethics Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 717 - 733
• Main Author: Alexander, David E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.09.2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Cooperative Behavior; Corruption; Crises; Digital media; Disaster management; Disaster Planning; Disaster risk; Disasters; Education; Emergency management; Emergency preparedness; Emergency response; Emergency warning programs; Engineering; Ethics; Human security; Humans; Information Dissemination; Information resources; Information technology; Internet; Malpractice; Management; Management of crises; Medicine/Public Health; Original Paper; Philosophy; Philosophy of Science; Risk; Risk management; Risk reduction; Risk Reduction Behavior; Social Media - ethics; Social networks; Emergency management; Ethics; Twitter; Disasters; Facebook; Social media
• ISSN: 1353-3452; 1471-5546; 1471-5546
• DOI: 10.1007/s11948-013-9502-z

This paper reviews the actual and potential use of social media in emergency, disaster and crisis situations. This is a field that has generated intense interest. It is characterised by a burgeoning but small and very recent literature. In the emergencies field, social media (blogs, messaging, sites such as Facebook, wikis and so on) are used in seven different ways: listening to public debate, monitoring situations, extending emergency response and management, crowd-sourcing and collaborative development, creating social cohesion, furthering causes (including charitable donation) and enhancing research. Appreciation of the positive side of social media is balanced by their potential for negative developments, such as disseminating rumours, undermining authority and promoting terrorist acts. This leads to an examination of the ethics of social media usage in crisis situations. Despite some clearly identifiable risks, for example regarding the violation of privacy, it appears that public consensus on ethics will tend to override unscrupulous attempts to subvert the media. Moreover, social media are a robust means of exposing corruption and malpractice. In synthesis, the widespread adoption and use of social media by members of the public throughout the world heralds a new age in which it is imperative that emergency managers adapt their working practices to the challenge and potential of this development. At the same time, they must heed the ethical warnings and ensure that social media are not abused or misused when crises and emergencies occur.