Media Uses in Disaster Situations: A New Focus on the Impact Phase

Abstract

The media, in the sociology of natural disasters, are mainly viewed as management tools used to influence people's preparedness and response to natural disasters. As a consequence, research in this area has been limited to the warning, preparedness, and recovery phases. Through interviews with residents of eight communities in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, impacted by Hurricane Georges in 1998, this paper shows that through integrating mass communication research to disaster theory we can obtain a more accurate picture of the media–audience relationship during natural disasters. In addition to the manifest functions of providing information, the media also have latent functions in disasters, which consist of emotional support and companionship. The media also help isolated individuals to feel connected with the “outside world.” These functions are most salient in the impact phase of disasters. These functions are also particularly crucial as they have been shown to reduce the negative effects of stressful life events.

Media Preference, Information Needs, and the Language Proficiency of Foreigners in Japan after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

“…This last aspect-connecting to other people with local concerns-is important considering that people experience the need for emotional support and companionship while suffering from a disaster (Perez-Lugo 2004). Internet-based social media can help people stay connected regardless of physical separation.…”

When societies crash: A critical analysis of news media’s social role in the aftermath of national disasters

“…Here, we diverge from the dominant conceptualization of disasters that focuses on the physical and/or material damage invoked by natural or man-made events and instead follow Graber (2005) in focusing on the ramifications or threat that these events represent to the peace of mind of large numbers of citizens. Such conceptualization already indicates that news media can assume a relevant and central role in the aftermath of a disaster, identified by Perez-Lugo (2004) as the social and therapeutic role of media. Through the representation of suffering, media can raise a (temporal) sense of personal identification or a sense of community (Wayment 2004;Kitch and Hume 2007).…”

“…We point to a number of complimentary and broader societal functions that are attributed to news media in academic literature discussing mediated suffering. As suggested earlier, we range these under the broad denominator of social functions (Perez-Lugo 2004). This social role is mainly important to victims and their immediate surroundings or relatives, although it also bears relevance to a broader community.…”

Facebook users' intentions in risk communication and food-safety issues

“…Individuals seek social support when facing difficult times, such as serious illness (Takahashi et al, 2009). During a risk or disaster, social media provide latent functions of social support (Macias, Hilyard, & Freimuth, 2009;Perez-Lugo, 2004;Thelwell & Stuart, 2007). Social support research includes three themes: uncertainty reduction, self acceptance and social integration (Adelman, 1995).…”