research on social media in crises from the red cross

8/9/2019 Research on Social Media in Crises from the Red Cross

1/19

1

SocialMediainDisastersandEmergencies

OnlineSurveyof1,058respondentsrepresentativeoftheUSpopulationaged18andolder,conductedbyInfogroup|ORConJuly2223,2010.Respondentsforthissurveywereselectedfromamongthosewhohavevolunteeredtoparticipateinonlinesurveysandpolls.Thedatahavebeenweightedtoreflectthedemographiccompositionofthe18+population. Becausethesampleisbasedonthosewhoinitially

self

selected

for

participation,

no

estimates

of

sampling

error

can

be

calculated.

ReportDate: August5,2010


2/19

2

Nearly 3 in 4 par t i c ipa te in a t leas t one onl ine c omm uni ty

o r soc ia l ne tw ork .Facebook is by far the most popular social media channel.

28%

2%

2%

4%

6%

7%

9%

9%

12%

15%

24%

31%

58%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

None

FourSquare

Yelp

Other

Flickr

A blog

Forums

LinkedIn

Yahoo Groups

Twitter

MySpace

YouTube

Facebook

Which of the following online communities or social networks do you participate in?


3/19

3

Var iat ions in use o f on l ine c om m uni t ies and

soc ial net w ork s

Respondentswithchildreninthehouseholdaremorelikelytousesocialmedia(81percentvs.67percentforthosewithoutchildren

inthe

household).

Collegegraduatesaremorelikelytousesocialmedia(78percent

vs.

67

percent

for

those

with

some

college

or

less).

89%ofrespondentsaged1834useonlinecommunitiesorsocialnetworkscomparedto65%ofthoseaged35andolder.

Which of the following online communities or social networks do you participate in?


4/19

4

The major i t y (82 perc ent ) par t i c ipa tes in soc ia l media a t leas t onc e

a w eek, w i th near ly ha l f par t i c ipa t ing every day or nearly every day .Base is 72% who participate in any online communities or social networks

Few times a

week, 25%

Few times a

month, 10%

Every day or

nearly, 48%

Once a month or

less, 8%

Once a week,

9%

How often do you participate in these online communities or social networks?


5/19

5

One in s ix (16%) have used soc ia l m edia t o get

in form at ion about an emergenc y

18%

2%

4%

6%

6%

7%

10%

12%

13%

14%

37%

44%

63%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

None of these

Flickr

Other

Text alerts from local government

Twitter

Mobile apps

Online sites for disaster agencies (e.g. FEMA, Red Cross)

Local utility or government website

NOAA weather radio

Facebook

Online news (e.g. local np site, weather.com, CNN.com)

Local radio station

TV news

Which of the following communication channels have you ever used to getinformation about an emergency such as a power outage, severe weather, flashflood, hurricane, earthquake, or tornado?


6/196

About ha l f o f respondent s w ou ld sign up for emai ls , t ex t

a le rt s , o r app l ica t ions to rec e ive any o f the em ergenc yin fo rmat ion .

46%

48%

48%

50%

50%

50%

52%

53%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Where to get gas

How to keep yourself safe during and after anemergency

Preparedness information

Location of medical services

Road closures

Shelter locations

Evacuation routes

Location of food/water

How likely would you be to sign up for emails, text alerts, or applications thatprovided you with the following information in an emergency? Percentagesindicate those who probably or definitely would.


7/197

About ha l f of respondent s w ou ld m ent ion any o f the

emergenc ies or events on t he i r soc ia l med ia c hanne ls.Base is the 72% who use at least one social media channel (online community or social network).

46%

47%

51%

53%

53%

55%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Major traffic jam

Car crash

Potential crime

Downed power lines

Flooded road

People needing emergency assistance

If you came across the following emergencies or newsworthy events, how likelywould you be to mention them on your social media channels? Percentagesindicate those who probably or definitely would.


8/198

Facebook w as the most c omm only used c hanne l fo r post ing

eyew i tness in fo rm at ion on an emergency or new sw or thy event .18% of those who use social media channels have posted information or photos about an emergency or newsworthyevent to a social media site.

13%

11%

13%

21%

22%

75%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Other

Posterous or Tumblr

Blog

Flickr

Twitter

Blog

Facebook

Have you ever experienced an emergency or witnessed a newsworthy event andposted information or photos about that event to a social media site? On whichsites did you post this event? (Select as many as apply.)


9/199

I f 911 w as busy , w hat w ould they do?(All respondents)

Whowouldtheytrytoreach?

Police

39%

Firedepartment

19%

Family,friends

or

neighbors

16%

Hospital10%

How?

Phoneor

cell

phone

42%

Digitalmedia

18%

Walkordrive 16% Textmessage 4%

Imagine that someone you knew needed urgent help in an area-wide emergency. You haverepeatedly dialed 911 and gotten a busy signal. How else would you try to contact emergencyresponders? Whom would you try to contact and how? (Open-ended)


10/1910

More t han ha lf w ou ld send a tex t m essage t o an

avai lab le response agenc y i f som eone they k newneeded help.

28%

35%

44%

52%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Send a direct message via Twitter to a response

agency

Post your request for help on a response agency's

Facebook page

Ask other people to help you reach a response

agency through a social network like Facebook or

Twitter

Send a text message to a response agency, if

available

If someone you knew needed urgent help in an area-wide emergency, would youtry to request help in any of the following ways? (Percent indicates those whodefinitely or probably would.)


11/1911

Dur ing an emergenc y, near ly ha l f w ould use soc ia l

m ed ia t o le t l oved ones know t hey are safe .

Definitely

would, 28%

Probably would,

21%

Probably would

not, 13%

Definitely would

not, 16%

Might or might

not, 22%

In an area-wide emergency, how likely would you be to use social media channelsto let your friends and family know you are safe?


12/1912

The vast m a jor i t y w ou ld use Fac ebook t o pos t

in fo rmat ion about t he ir sa fe t y .Base is the 49% of those who would use social media channels in an emergency to let friends/family know they were safe.

11%

7%

11%

28%

86%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Other

Flickr

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Which sites would you use?


13/1913

44%

49%

59%

69%

It'sverylikelythattheemergencyresponseorganizationdoesn'tevenknowaboutthisrequest

Sincethisrequestforhelpispostedtothesocialmediasiteofanemergencyresponseorganization,theorganizationisprobablyalreadyactingonthisrequest

IwouldfeelthatIshouldphonetheagencytomakesuretheyhaveseentherequest

Emergencyresponseagenciesshouldregularlymonitortheirwebsitesandsocialmediasitessotheycanrespondpromptlytoanyrequestsforhelppostedthere

More than t w o-t h i rds agree that response agenc ies should

regu lar ly moni t or and respond t o post ings on the i r w ebs i tes .

Imagine that you are on a social media site for an emergency response organization such asFEMA or the American Red Cross and you see a recent post that includes an urgent request forhelp. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Percentagesindicate Strongly Agree and Agree)


14/1914

Three ou t o f four w ou ld expec t he lp t o a rr i ve

w i th in an hour

Less than 15

minutes, 28%

15-30

minutes, 27%

More than one

hour, 16%

Other, 9%

30 minutes toone hour, 19%

If you posted a request for help to a social media website, how long do you think itshould reasonably take for help to arrive?


15/1915

Younger respondent s (18-34) m ak e m ore use of

soc ia l m ed ia

Aged 18-34Aged 35and over

Par t ic ipate in a t least one onl ine

c om m uni t y or soc ia l net w ork 89% 65%

Have used soc ia l m edia to get

inform at ion about an em ergenc y 33% 9%

Have used TV new s t o ge t

inform at ion in an em ergenc y 53% 68%


16/1916

Younger respondent s are m ore l i k e ly to m ent ion

em ergenc ies on soc ia l m ed ia

Probably or defin i te ly w ould m ent ion

emergenc ies on your soc ia l m ed ia

c hannels Aged 18-34

Aged 35

and

Over

Car c rash 57% 41%

Major t ra f f ic jam 55% 41%

Dow ned pow er l ines 57% 50%

Flooded road 62% 49%

People needing emergenc yass is t anc e 62% 50%

Pot ent ia l c r im e 56% 47%


17/19

17

Younger peop le are m ore l ik e ly t o request he lp

t h rough soc ia l m ed ia or t ex t m essag ing

Would use fo l low ing w ays to request

u rgen t he lp for someone they knew in

an area-w ide em ergenc y Aged 18-34

Aged 35 and

Over

Send a d irec t message v ia Tw i t t e r to a

response agenc y 44% 23%

Post your request fo r he lp on a responseagenc y 's Fac ebook page 49% 29%

Send a t ex t m essage t o a response

agenc y, i f avai lab le 66% 46%

Ask o t her peop le to he lp you reac h a

response agency t hrough a soc ia l

net w ork l ik e Fac ebook or Tw i t t er 55% 39%


18/19

18

Younger respondent s ex pec t a fast er response

f rom soc ia l media request s for he lp

Agree or St rong ly Agree w i th Fo l low ing

St at em ent s Aged 18-34

Aged 35 and

Over

Since t h is request fo r he lp i s posted t o thesoc ia l m ed ia s ite o f an emergenc y response

organizat ion, t he organizat ion is probably

a l ready ac t ing on t h is request 57% 45%

I t 's very l i ke ly tha t t he emergency response

organ iza t ion doesn 't even k now about t h is

request 52% 41%

Em ergenc y response agencies should regular ly

mon i to r t he ir w ebsi tes and soc ia l med ia

s i tes so they c an respond prompt ly to anyrequest s for he lp post ed t here 74% 66%

Think i t shou ld tak e an hour o r less fo r he lp to

ar r ive i f they post a request on a soc ia l

m edia w ebsi t e 85% 70%


19/19

19

In som e areas, o lder and young respondent s

agree

18%wouldtrytousedigitalmediatoaskforhelpinanemergencyiftheycouldnotreach911

4%wouldusetextmessagingtoaskforhelpinanemergencyiftheycouldnotreach911

research on social media in crises from the red cross

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