Social media & disastersIn disasters, Twitter users with large networks get out-tweeted
New study shows that when it comes to sharing emergency information during natural disasters, timing is everything. The study on Twitter use during hurricanes, floods and tornadoes offers potentially life-saving data about how information is disseminated in emergency situations, and by whom. Unlikely heroes often emerge in disasters, and the same is true on social media.
When it comes to sharing emergency information during natural disasters, new University of Vermont research shows how timing is everything.
The new study on Twitter use during hurricanes, floods and tornadoes offers potentially life-saving data about how information is disseminated in emergency situations, and by whom.
Vermont notes that the research is the first to look at social media patterns across different disaster types, focusing on five of the decade’s costliest U.S. emergencies.
The study highlights two key findings: First, on average, Twitter users with small local networks (with 100-200 followers) increase their activity more than those with larger networks in these emergency situations. Second, each type of natural disaster studied possessed its very own unique pattern of social media use.
The findings, published in the journal PLOS ONE, have important implications for organizations responsible for communicating vital information around emergencies, particularly as natural hazards increase in incidence and cost, a trend expected to continue with climate change.
“In planning for natural hazards and disasters, thinking about when and what to tweet really does matter,” says lead author Meredith Niles of UVM’s Gund Institute for Environment and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “We show that social media use differs markedly depending on emergency type, and these insights can help with emergency planning, where effective communications can be a matter of life and death.”
Power of the people
Despite the importance placed on celebrity social media influencers with millions of followers, in natural disasters average Twitter users – those with 100 to 200 followers – were found to be more active disseminators of useful information.
“We found ‘average Twitter users’ tweeted more frequently about disasters, and focused on communicating key information,” says study co-author Benjamin Emery, a Master’s student in UVM’s Complex Systems Center and Computational Story Lab.
“While these users have fewer followers than so-called influencers, their followers tend to have a higher proportion of friends and family, close networks that are more likely to seek and exchange useful information in emergency situations.”
