The paper presents the results of a literature review on how social media can impact on disaster risk perception and vulnerability and how these two aspects are interconnected, trying to understand what factors have consequences especially on informational vulnerability. The paper answers to the increasing requests at an international level to move from a technocratic approach to disaster risk management and reduction to a holistic one, where social perspective is integrated. The paper states that this change of paradigm is relevant, especially considering the role that new technologies in communication and information systems are acquiring in disaster risk management and reduction. What emerges from the literature review is that there is a limited scientific production on the topic and further works are desired, to improve knowledge on how new communication and information technologies can impact on vulnerability and risk perception. Furthermore, the two topics are usually discussed separately. However, the role that risk perception can have in increasing or reducing vulnerability deserves to be better discussed.
<p>Social media have the potential to significantly influence the disaster risk understanding of natural events of climatic and geological origin, e.g., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides. Given their considerable diffusion, nowadays they represent a valid support during emergency management processes thanks to their multiple uses in all the different phases of the disaster cycle. The presented results have been achieved carrying out a literature review in the framework of the European H2020 project LINKS ('Strengthening links between technologies and society for European disaster resilience') which aims to strengthen the link between technology and society to improve resilience in four European countries associated with five different risk scenarios. The aim of this research was to investigate how social media influence and impact vulnerability and risk perception and how the increased use of social media as a communication tool during a disaster is shaped by the way the two concepts interact and are conceptualised. The main results are that through social media, it is possible to raise people's awareness of the disaster, also by working on each individual's trust in those who provide information, but also to disseminate useful information and alerts to the population to keep abreast of real-time events, to connect citizens with each other in order to reduce distances and provide psychological support, and to create a social network for those in need. Additionally, social media can be used to manage an emergency and coordinate volunteer actions. The concepts of vulnerability and risk perception are extremely important to be considered when talking about geological hazards and disasters. They are two interconnected concepts that need to be pursued hand in hand in emergency management. The main challenges and factors impacting the use of social media concern access, quality and reliability of information, trust, and awareness of the news being provided, but also personal experience and geographical, social and demographic factors that may influence the way information is perceived and understood. The perception of geological risks directly influences people's preparedness and the way they act, helping anyone to understand the scope of the event and the potential risks that could occur, in order to make informed decisions on how to react. Furthermore, a real understanding of vulnerability influences the resilience of local communities in relation to disasters and can in turn be influenced using social media. Social media can also amplify public fear and concern about the disaster, especially if there is a lot of misinformation or sensationalism about the event. This can lead to an overestimation of risks and an increased sense of vulnerability among the population. These results could be helpful in identifying possible methods and approaches to study these issues in the future.&#160;&#160;</p>
Gender inequality is detrimental to individuals and ultimately to organizations. Furthermore, addressing this issue will become more important to be eligible for research funds, as already occurs in Europe. Since language shapes the way we think, some simple changes in the words we use daily in geoscience and in other academic fields could promote gender equality. Journal editorial boards could adopt similar measures to foster such changes in the geoscience community.
<p>Very few research studies have been dedicated to understanding the role of social media, diversity and vulnerability during a highly impacting event for a society. Social media are very important nowadays as a way to be in "connection to" and "link between" individuals. Thanks to technological support it is possible to create new virtual and real social relationships and networks and to be always up to date about what happen in the world. The role that virtual space plays "reducing distances", connecting people and places and facilitating the provision of support to people in need, has been receiving increasing interest in disaster studies in last years. In particular, connectivity has assumed an increasing role in relation to the diffusion of means to reach people and places in virtual mode. Furthermore, the use of social media as a means of providing information on disasters and risks could help to reduce exposure in disasters. However, several knowledge gaps are still opened, and in particular which are the potential repercussions of a high connected disaster management process on vulnerability? How can the weight of diversity change into the virtual space? The premise is that not everyone has the same possibility of accessing social media (e.g. to be informed, to know what is happening and to link with rescuers). The difficulty of accessing social media can make people invisible into the disaster management process with the risk that someone could be left behind. Thus, this presentation aims to discuss the challenges that derive from an increasing use of social platform in providing and receiving information during disasters. A second relevant point, that this presentation aims to discuss, is linked to the way citizens perceive communication platforms and how the flow of information significantly impacts on the interpretation and on the management of risk. Conclusions of this work suggest that communication should take into account the risk perception models by the public and therefore the peculiarities of each vulnerable group, to provide "targeted" communications in relation to the cultural context with the aim of reducing vulnerability growing up citizens&#8217; awareness and knowledge. This presentation is the result of the work provided as part of the EU H2020 founded project LINKS (http://links-project.eu).<span>&#160;</span></p>
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