https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-mobile-devices-are-transforming-disaster-relief-and-public-safety/
Social media is typically in the news for all the wrong reasons: Invasion of privacy, bullying, trading of illegal substances and the list goes on. It's easy to get caught up in all the negative side effects of the industry. Initially, when Facebook was set up by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 it was intended for Harvard students to socialise with one another. Now, the platform is one of the biggest companies in the world with over 2 billion monthly active users. It's increasingly difficult to find anyone who hasn't had a Facebook account in their lifetime!
For the common user Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are platforms for news updates or keeping up with your favourite influencers but for others, it's had a much more vital role to play. In the wake of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, thousands of people took to social media to mark themselves as safe or to try and locate loved ones. This is one of the first times people had utilised the platform for natural disaster relief. It was a quick and effective method for giving friends and family peace of mind their loved one is safe.
Following the Japan disaster, Facebook engineers developed a feature called Safety Check which quickly determines if people in affected areas are safe. The feature was first put to test in 2015 following the Nepal earthquake and then again later that year during Hurricane Patricia. Facebook was praised for its new feature, however, some people commented due to poor internet connection caused by the earthquake it was difficult for some users to access the service. Another issue arose when there was a bug within the system which prompted users outside the affected area to mark they were safe. This lead to many accusing people of being insensitive to the loss of life that occurred during the disaster by saying they were safe when they clearly weren't affected. Watch the video demonstration below to see how the Safety Check feature works.
Nowadays, these issues have been ironed out through testing and the feature is one of the most impactful utilities of social media. As well as marking yourself as safe, you can now give or find help within the virtual space to those that need it. Money can also be raised to support those that have lost homes or businesses. This form of natural disaster relief not only relies on technology but the kindness from others and in my opinion is a very important source of aid. This application might not give direct help in the form of emergency workers or 3D printing prosthetic limbs but does give people not directly located within the disaster zone to supply help. It provides people in countries across the world with the ability to make a difference with a few clicks. Future advancements in technology could potentially open the door to people instantly send supplies from their home via a drone to those desperately in need. Social media is a powerful tool and utilising it in the right way can ensure we keep people safe and connected.
