A Conceptual Framework for Social Media Use During Disasters

Social media is a prevalent and evolving communication channel that allows users to create contents, consume and share with a wider community. It is seen that there is a high potential to adapt social media in disaster risk reduction and management (DRR&M) as an advanced communication channel by facilitating communication and dissemination of disaster-related information to a wider community, based on the lessons learned from previous disasters that have been reported around the world. It has also been identified by researchers and practitioners as an essential communication channel that can supplement traditional channels because their application to disaster risk management provides the users with new benefits. The development of a conceptual framework for the use of social media in disasters was recognized as a key requirement for strengthening social media practices in DRR&M by addressing their prevailing gaps and barriers and it will be useful for future research studies on the use of social media in DRR&M. A comprehensive literature review was carried out in this study to develop this framework which has been formed on two major concerns in the context of using social media in a disaster: Uses and Users of social media in disasters. With the aid of the developed framework of this study future studies are expected to be carried out in the context of the implementation and development of best social media practices in disaster situations.