Connected Through Crisis

Abstract

During crises, the ability to access relevant information is extremely important for those affected. Previous research shows that social media have become popular for rapid information exchange between members of the online community after crisis events. This study focuses on the effects of proximity to a crisis on information sharing behaviors. Using constructivist grounded theory to guide our inquiry, we conducted interviews with eleven people who used social media in the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings. Salient themes emerging from this study suggest that both physical and emotional proximity to a crisis influence online information seeking and sharing behaviors. Additionally, speed of information sharing and information access renders social media especially useful during crisis and particularly susceptible to the spread of misinformation. We view the latter as a consequence of the inevitable sensemaking process that occurs as individuals attempt to make sense of incomplete information.

What triggers online help-seeking retransmission during the COVID-19 period? Empirical evidence from Chinese social media

“…Thus, it would be more reasonable and significant to explore further in the content factor. There is plenty of research providing conceptual references, such as the depth of self-disclosure [ 16 , 28 ], different types of support messages [ 16 , 29 ], physical and emotional proximity to the target [ 30 ], the social capital stock of the help seeker [ 22 ]. Enlightened by existing experience, we will summarize the impelling factors of help-seeking information diffusion into five dimensions: completeness, proximity, support typology, disease severity, emotion, and elaborate them in the following sections.…”

Internet use and well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak: Examining the role of gender, age, motives for using the internet and relational resources in an Italian adult sample.

“…Different factors may explain the increased use of internet for knowledge purposes among people aged 36-45, included closer proximity to their loved ones, which may have made the need to use the internet for leisure and social interaction purposes less intense, and the higher awareness of the severity of the health emergency. In the context of previous pandemics, the perceived severity of the situation has been shown to increase information sharing (Huang et al 2015). With respect to gender, previous reviews on technology use found significant differences in the patterns of ICT use among men and women (e.g., Goswami & Dutta, 2015;Krasnova et al, 2017;Venkatesh, Thong, & Xu, 2012).…”

Rethinking civic computing in China

“…Johnson and Kaye conducted a survey of U.S. citizens' perceptions of political information credibility for social media and traditional media (Johnson & Kaye, 2015 (Huang et al, 2015).…”