Pros And Cons Of Social Media Reports Of A Natural Disaster

The use of social media has rapidly increased within the past decade, making it a prime source of communication for people all around the world. An example of how people are implementing social media is by sharing information before, during, and after the occurrence of natural disasters to keep others informed. Sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have become tremendously popular in aspects like reporting the news. Most news channels now have apps, blogs, and social media accounts. Though, many people may feel as if the information about disasters being reported is inaccurate due to the source of where someone recorded it from. Overall, social media is a benefit in the concept of disaster awareness because it is the fastest method of communication between billions of people, …show more content…
Jim Scatterfield was quoted saying “misinformation in a crisis can be its own disaster and increase confusion” (“How” 3). Sometimes, information being reported can be misleading because it was posted too soon or it is just simply incorrect. Social media can also cause a harm to the country as a whole from terrorist groups. Mantel confirms that “[terrorists] find the internet appealing for the same reasons as everyone else does: it is cheap, easily accessible, unregulated, and reaches a potentially enormous audience” (Mantel 285). This can be a problem in its own because whatever is posted will be viewed by whomever is on social media. Anyone who is searching for credible information via social media can find it if they are using the correct sites and viewing the most useful posts. The average person can differentiate between what is helpful and what is idiocy. Posts made by a news station can be guaranteed to be resourceful. What someone sees on social media can be regulated in settings. Anyone can choose who sees their posts. Access to updates from terrorist groups can be informative to the