Expressions of Resilience: Social Media Responses to a Flooding Event

Abstract

Concerns over the resilience of individuals within communities impacted by extreme weather events have heightened in recent years due to the increasing frequency and intensity of these events. Individuals’ participation in communicative activities is an integral part of how they prepare for and respond to natural disasters. This study focuses on how individuals express resilience in social media posts from Twitter before, during, and after a regional flooding event in Colorado in 2013 (N = 210,303). Findings show that both negative and positive emotional responses spike at the start of the event, with positive emotions remaining high in the weeks following the event. Uses of language related to social connections, as well as references to home and work, increased during and after the event. Tweets used pronouns focused on the self during the event but shifted to pronouns focused on the collective after the event. This study points the importance of language for understanding the lasting impact extreme weather events can have on individuals, as well as when and how to reach individuals with information about recovery. The increased focus on collective language after the event provides an opportunity for calls to action in collecting and distributing shared resources.

A Rapid Assessment of Disaster Preparedness Needs and Resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…However, some participants stated that this prior experience provided no preparation from COVID because it is so different. One of the lessons learned from prior disasters has been the need for transportable technology and the use of online platforms and social media for communication and delivery of mental health services [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. For the overwhelming majority of agencies, however, the use of virtual platforms for telehealth or other forms of services is an entirely new experience.…”

Actionable Information in Flood Risk Communications and the Potential for New Web-Based Tools for Long-Term Planning for Individuals and Community

“…At even longer time scales, the recovery process can benefit from greater investment in and more efficient information utilization from social media (Yeo et al, 2020). Anderson (2020) noted that evidence of success during the recovery process can be derived from social media communications, in the form of a shift of pronouns from first person singular to first person plural (i.e., from "I, me, my" to "we, us, our"), as the former set of pronouns provides evidence of selfpreservation (Pennebaker, 2013) while the latter signifies collectivity (Pavlidou, 2014).…”

Assessing vulnerability to psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic through the analysis of microblogging content

“…In particular, an annotated corpus of Twitter posts was developed, also thanks to external depression-related lexicons, to enable a better understanding of conveyed depressive symptoms and psychosocial stressors [14] . Additional research focused on concerns, opinions, and perceptions embedded in Twitter posts, including emotional resilience [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] . Originating sentiment trajectories on social media might represent a novel potential approach to monitor and support emotional wellbeing at a community-level [21] , [22] , [23] .…”