The role of social media in the 2011 Japanese disaster - Dissertation Example

?Introduction During the Japanese disaster, Japan has been renowned to the world not because of its spiraling upward performance in the economy but due to the destructive forces of nature that can possibly do even to highly advanced countries. One hour or less before the disaster, the world has been alarmed about the earthquake in the country and its probable aftermath. In an international satellite broadcast, the world was informed about the coming tsunami as a huge earthquake hit Japan. The neighboring countries were alarmed especially those that face the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes are prevalent. In a live international satellite telecast, the world witnessed horrifying huge waves to the shore of Japan that devoured properties and lives. The damage caused by tsunami and its series of waves caused discomfort among the Japanese. The nuclear power plant was in danger of meltdown as aftershocks continued to hit the country. According to financial analysts and economic experts, the Japanese economy might be facing a remarkable threat due to the aftermath of the said disaster. The impact might be horrible at some point for the Japanese economy. However, these are just series of opinions that eventually were aired across the globe. With this level of information, it is important to understand that people across the globe were highly informed about the situation and with the details of information provided through the media, it is evident that people were given significant idea about the actual situation in Japan even if they were not there. One of the Japanese in an interview told the media about his horrible experience during the earthquake and its series of aftershock. ‘I have witnessed how strong the magnitude of the earthquake was. The whole building was already moving like a cradle does.’ Due to this coverage of the media, people from other parts of the world were given enough idea how horrible was the said experience. They were given the right and even detailed information how strong was the magnitude of that earthquake plus they were provided with the actual idea of the tsunami through a live aerial video footage. Disasters such as earthquake and huge waves in Japan have always become the highlights of an international live satellite telecast in modern times. This is simply because the media are always after of informing the public of the great risk involved nd the needed recovery (Miles and Morse, 2007). The world witnessed such event due to the availability of live coverage and actual footage of the disaster’s destructive force. In situation like this, the media are the most important sources of information. They eventually have pervasive power to disseminate information to keep everyone highly informed about things that matters to the entire humanity. For many decades, media have remarkably improved and evolved due to its vibrant dominance in imparting information throughout the world. Their scope of spreading the right information has reached not just within a certain place but today it has remarkably moved over in the entire world. The media have remarkably become among of the most important tools for public relations activity and news coverage (Courtright and Slaughter, 2007). In the midst of advanced information technology, the ultimate goal of the media is to aggressively scatter information from one place to another in a fast pace. In fact, people are bombarded with information daily because of the capacity of the media to transform certain information to be relevant to them. People are always looking forward to the right information and they always expect to have it from the media. In particular, this paper tries to discuss the role of social media in the 2011 Japanese disasters such as earthquake and tsunami. The role of television One of the oldest technologies invented by human is television. Today, in wherever part of the world, it is one of the most important sources of information and entertainment of the people. Television has become the major part of the daily lives of most of the people in the world. Today, the capacity of television to broadcast information is not limited to local information but there is a great depth of unraveling information in an international scope. In the midst of 2011 Japan disasters, it is evident that television has become one of the most important sources of information. For instance, it is through television news reports that individuals have been informed about their family relatives abroad especially those in Japan. Specifically, television has become one important instrument that could be used for precautionary measures and monitoring of hazards behaviours of the people (Morris, 2005). The television broadcasted significant news reports from Japan and these specifically try to update concerned individuals about the ongoing progress of disaster among the Japanese. For instance, the television has become the channel of information how Japan had correspondingly attempted to solve the issue in facing the aftermath of the disaster. For instance, most of the programs on television across the globe were temporarily cut because of breaking news flashing the live coverage and footage of earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. With this live and breaking news, many of the people across the globe have been given with the information about the probable impact of the said event. In some part of the world especially those that face the Pacific basin and those that belong to the ring of fire, were informed about the probable impacts of earthquake that hit Japan. Some people were alarmed and got into panic knowing that the television was able to disseminate information that could either bring panic or peace of mind. It is therefore clear that television has the potential to trigger emotion by simply trying to give visual details of specific information. People may not be focusing on the opinion of the news report but they are actually after of what they see. Through the live telecast of tsunami in Japan, people from around the world had enough information about the potential destructive forces of nature. With this, the entire move of the media through television is perceived to be effective in such a way that what the people see is what they get. In other words, just like what a picture does, the information shown on television can be assumed true and eventually will not lie. From this perspective, television has become one of the most effective tools to be employed in order to define the right perspective for the people. Television can be the leading source of information because aside from people can hear it, they can also see the detail of what they listen to. The role of the newspapers Local newspapers in every nation have also corresponding news reports about the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011. The good thing about newspapers is that the reporters have the freedom to express their opinion about the subject matter. What is good about this is the ability of newspapers to give more information for the readers for their awareness on certain issues or situations (Ashlin and Ladle, 2007). The readers have the freedom to think and process about what they read too. During the disaster in Japan, local newspapers have special column for articles related about the said event. These special columns were intended to inform the people about the progress of the ongoing situation in Japan. There were specific news updates in the newspapers daily about the disaster in Japan. For instance, the threat of nuclear meltdown in Japan brought about important opinion whether it is still safe to go for it as important source of electricity generation. Citing Japan as a highly advanced country in the world, the nuclear plant and its safety was deliberately discussed in various local newspapers in the world. There were numerous opinions about it that eventually were discussed in various local correspondents. The good thing about these newspapers is that the readers will be updated daily with the entire story they are following. In other words, the newspapers have become the daily source of information that eventually will keep someone inform about his or her news of great concern. The newspapers are not just important source of information but they also try to widen the awareness of each individual about the prevailing issues. It gives sufficient background of information to the readers which perspective to understand. Unlike the television, there is a great deal of effort to be employed in reading newspapers. It requires the reader to grasp the detailed event or information. On television, there are sufficient pictures and words to listen to, but in newspapers readers are left to discover the most essential information for them to get the entire picture of the whole event or story behind a certain issue or situation. It is in this reason that for many decades, newspapers remain to be one of the mostly used media by the people because of their capacity to impart the whole story or event in great detail. Aside from that, readers are the ones to grasp the entire information and they can eventually control the pace of their reading according to their own capacity to understand things. Thus, in the event of disaster in Japan, there were various detailed issues that may not be necessarily broadcasted on television or other social media but on newspapers they can all be recognized. This is due to the fact that in newspapers, the reports at some point may not be limited and there is a good chance to cover more relevant information. In the case of disasters just like what happened in Japan, there were various detailed reports that need to be imparted to the people. The newspapers can be the best media to perform such function of keeping everyone informed about the details of the said disaster. The role of internet Today, everything perhaps is in the internet world. This is the realm where people come and go or visit for special purpose. Everyone has special purpose why they need to open the internet and explore. However, one thing is sure when one comes to visit the internet, he or she is connected with the entire world. Then it is not impossible to be informed about the world’s current event. Disaster or any situations in line with it needs special communication tools especially new and advanced technology (Aten et al., 2011). Thus, internet will not be far as an option. The site for Yahoo for instance is always up-to-date with the current events in the world. In fact, there is daily news or live update for on-going issues in the world. The same thing happened during the disasters that stirred the entire Japan because of a high-magnitude earthquake which was then followed by series of long heavy waves of tsunami, which is said to be among of the top worst things that ever happened in the country. There were various headlines at Yahoo about the disaster in Japan. There were different stories involved. One of the mostly admired stories was the strange friendship and loyalty of neighbouring dogs. Amidst the disaster, these dogs were merely showing affectionate love for each other as if they were like humans. Various praises were heard from the world for those dogs because of that headline. Many people adored those dogs but the bottom line is that the said incident will remain as a picture in the minds of those who got something to say about the actual footage of the disaster. The internet therefore is a gateway to information. It does not only allow someone to find for recreation in it, but in today’s world where communication connects almost everyone, it is necessity to be always updated with information. The internet is a good venue to keep everyone informed about the latest worldly events. It is a source that tries to connect everyone by imparting information from other side of the world. The 2011 Japan disaster is a specific event in the world history that is currently recorded in the internet. The internet is a specific place where there are different participating entities that try to express information in their very own ways. There are various sites in the World Wide Web that try to participate with their very own purpose. The bottom line in most of them is to create heavy traffic so as to offer services, conduct commercial activities and other related marketing activities. However, their basic point is to share information and in doing so there will be enough room for them to convey other significant purpose. Thus, in situations just like what happened in the 2011 Japan disaster, the internet will always remain one of the most visited places to inquire information. In line with this, it has become an important place for related searches. This is the reason that Google has become one of the mostly used search engines in the world. For this reason, the said search engine has millions or even billions of information of all sorts of things in the world. It cannot be denied that through this search engine, it would be easy to find ideas about whatever information there might be about on a certain issue. Considering that there is almost everything one can find in the internet, it is important to include the fact that there are various social network sites that are mushrooming in the World Wide Web. Each of these try to create strategic move just to increase traffic and eventually offer their services in the best possible way they can. In the next section, the various roles of social networking sites in the internet are elaborately discussed. From Facebook down to new social networking sites entrants, there is corresponding issue on how effective they are in conveying information. The role of social networking sites The call for rescue and relief operation in Japan after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami was burgeoning on Facebook, Twitter accounts and other social networking sites. Individuals were encouraged to donate something for the Japanese people and the victims. This is evidence that social networking sites were coordinating or associating with the international agencies which are in-charge of most situations that involve disasters just like what happened in Japan. Furthermore, this only shows that social networking sites can eventually contribute further to preparedness and response plan to situations such as natural disasters (Aten and Topping, 2010). People who are most influential who happened to have Facebook or Twitter accounts have been overheard in these social networking sites to have donated to Japan. These celebrities including Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber donated millions of dollars for relief operation in Japan. They are all influential and they triggered everyone to participate as well. The good thing about these social network sites is that there is a good way to influence other people to do the right thing because of the mere design of the site itself. People can be always up-to-date with the relevant discussion or communication each of them are imparting with the other. In other words, people are guided by the social norms and the good thing about it is that there is a good chance to unite everyone around the globe for one certain goal or cause. The case of Japan’s disaster and social networking site is a good way to unite everyone into one positive goal for the entire humanity. The humanity has many ways to be prepared for everything and create a purposeful respond plans. It is evident that the social networking sites are proven to be effective in doing this part. Conclusion The disaster in Japan in 2011 is a proof that social media are eventually integral parts of the lives of people. In the age of information technology, information and communication is necessary even though they are much accessible than before. This just only proves that the social media and its advancement bring the good opportunity to communicate information in the best possible way. Japan may be highly advanced in its own way, but such advancement in our time is necessary to be part of the progression of the social media. The social media are without question proved to be important component of how humans try to fight natural disasters. Such requires preparedness and response plans in great detail. In line with this, there is a strong link among communication, information and the strong media. Such link is proven to work effectively in unison especially in events such as disaster in Japan in 2011. References Ashlin, A., and Ladle, R. J. (2007) ‘Natural disasters’ and newspapers: Post-tsunami environmental discourse.’ Environmental Hazards, Vol. 7 (4): 330-341. Aten, J. D., Leavell, K., Gonzalez, R., Luke, T., Defee, J., and Harrison, K. (2011) ‘Everyday Technologies for Extraordinary Circumstances: Possibilities for Enhancing Disaster Communication.’ Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Vol. 3 (1): 16-20. Aten, J. D., and Topping, S. (2010) ‘An Online Social Networking Disaster Preparedness Tool for Faith Communities.’ Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Vol. 2 (2): 130-134. Courtright, J. L., and Slaughter, G. Z. (2007) ‘Remembering disaster: Since the media do, so must public relations.’ Public Relations Review, Vol. 33 (3): 313-318. Miles, B., and Morse, S. (2007) ‘The role of news media in natural disaster risk and recovery.’ Ecological Economics, Vol. 63 (2-3): 365-373. Morris, K. S. (2005) ‘Tornadoes, television and trust – A closer look at the influence of the local weathercaster during severe weather.’ Global Environment Change Part B Environmental Hazards, Vol. 6 (4): 201 – 210. Read More