Role of Social Media Before, During and After Emergencies Dissertation

Role of Social Media Before, During and After Emergencies - Dissertation Example Adequate preparedness has been important in mitigation of the destructive consequences of disasters. Social media has been used to share critical information and facilitate coordination between disaster response teams when other forms of communication are unavailable. Further, due to the universal communication capabilities of social media, it has been extensively used to aid recovery following a disaster, as it is possible to appeal to people all over the world to donate towards the cause through a brief social media campaign. As it is the case with other communication technologies, usage of social media tools in disaster management is not devoid of limitations. These limitations which are centered on technological, regulatory and reliability perspectives of communication lower the quality of information in the social media, thus rendering it ineffective for crisis management. The challenges can be overcome through the enhancement of technological and regulatory frameworks underlyin g social media. Social media should not be used as the alternative to traditional media but should rather be used as a complementary media to enhance the overall communication in the disaster management cycle.Recently, the world has witnessed the myriad chain of disasters. From Hurricane Katrina in the United States, deadly earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, Katrina in U.S, earthquake in Haiti, exceedingly cold winter in Europe, and terror bombings in various parts of the world. With the rise of disasters in the past few years, it can be expected that their frequency will increase in the future years, especially with respect to natural disasters that may not be averted(Keim, 2011). Due to the frequent disasters, there has been an increased need for communication as people seek to reach their families and friends in the crisis zone, and get information concerning shelter, food and accommodation and transport. Social media has been instrumental in the dissemination of information about these crises by allowing the sharing of information and calls for help.