Widespread prevalence and use of social media have had a significant impact on the way people approach crisis situations. Gaining significant userbase and surpassing the traditional media outlets in recent years, multi-media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others have become a steady tool in addressing emergencies. Through using social media, relevant information can be quickly sent and distributed, foregoing the formalities of standard television.
There are several advantages and downsides to using this approach and determining if the use of modern media in extreme circumstances can be difficult. The main advantage social media provides is that the affected people and victims can use it to make providing support and understanding the details of a situation easier (How to Use Social Media to Communicate in an Emergency 2018).
Stakeholders in natural disasters and cataclysms can provide the rescue efforts with their location info, and the authorities can use social media to organize a centralized help system. Overall, the use of social media can severely improve communication speeds and overcome barriers that cannot be managed by standard means of contact. On the other hand, this approach also has significant downsides. Misinformation can easily spread, increasing civil unrest, and potentially doing harm to many people (Munis, 2020).
Because of the large number of people involved, the authorities have to put significant emphasis on spreading the correct narrative and keeping the situation under control. Although it is a significant problem that hampers the effectiveness of crisis response, the communication possibilities, and the speed of social media outweighs the negative consequences. With the joined effort of the authorities and the community, it is possible to effectively utilize the modern platform to aid more people.
Works Cited
How to Use Social Media to Communicate in an Emergency. ePACT. (2018). Web.
Munis, T. (2020). Advantages and disadvantages of social media in crisis communications. Web.