Social Media Use during Japan's 2011 Earthquake: How Twitter Transforms the Locus of Crisis Communication

Abstract

This article explores social media use during Japan's 2011 earthquake. In the era of social media, this earthquake provides an opportunity for analysing the role of communication during a crisis. To explain how social media use transforms the locus of crisis communication, we collected sufficient data on tweets in Japan from the Twitter public timeline during the earthquake and examined the Japanese government's Twitter account and its URLs. The results indicate that crisis communication on Twitter was led by peer-to-peer communication and relied on peer-generated information. In addition, the government's traditional leadership role in exercising tight control over crises and facilitating disaster communication was not clearly apparent on Twitter. By examining the shift in the locus of crisis communication through social media, this study provides new insights into the current use of social media.

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“…Social networks have been defined as ‘online venues for information sharing and social communication, where users create public profiles, interact with friends, and connect with other users’ (Masedu et al, , p. 1). Although social media is currently used in combination with traditional measures, during many recent extreme events it has actually been preeminent, broadcasting vital information before mainstream media (Murthy and Longwell, ; Cho et al, ; Abedin et al, ; Huang and Xiao, ; Takahashi et al, ). Furthermore, social media has become significantly instrumental in diminishing the communication gap between emergency services and individuals located in inaccessible areas during the aftermath of a disaster (Ehnis and Bunker, ; Cho et al, ; Neubaum et al, ; Takahashi et al, ).…”

“…The routine usage of social media in everyday life has led to public expectation that emergency services and local authorities will communicate via social media during natural disasters (Meaton and Stringer, ). Members of the public increasingly rely on official agency social media accounts as a platform for accessing key information, seeking assistance, and subsequently sharing relevant disaster information with family and friends (Cho et al, ; St. Denis et al, ). Consequently, the rapid expansion of social media channels is fundamentally changing how organisations assemble and convey disaster information (Zhang et al, ).…”

“…Although the majority of government agencies and organisations recognise the extensive influence of social media and its evident potential, this important communication tool is not currently effectively utilised or explored in relation to emergency planning. It has previously been suggested that this limited endorsement is related to lack of official support, inadequate knowledge with regards to its usability in relation to natural disasters and the lack of a standard framework for its effective integration with traditional communication channels (Ehnis and Bunker, ; Cho et al, ; St. Denis et al, ; Fritze and Kray, ; Sutton et al, ; Zhang et al, ). Therefore institutional changes and the development of a suitable communication framework is necessary in order to explore the full potential of social media disaster communication by agencies and organisations (Ehnis and Bunker, ; Cho et al, ; St. Denis et al, ; Fritze and Kray, ).…”

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