The benefits of social media and the internet during the twin disasters that struck Japan on the 11th March 2011

With the accessibility to the internet, one can get updated news by just going into news portals or by just opening Yahoo. The moment the Yahoo page pop up on the screen, we are bombarded with the latest updates of current affairs and what’s happening around us and around the world. It can be latest updates about a disaster struck area or latest news and updates on a demonstration that took place.

However, it is undeniable that social networking sites such as Facebook, Tweeter has become the highlight when the twin disaster swept through the Japanese region on the 11^th March 2011. Benkoil, D, 2011 asserted that from the comfort of his home in New York, it felt like I had more information and contacts at my fingertips than I did then as a reporter in Japan.  

These social networking sites played a very important role during the moment of the disaster. Victims are uploading tons of videos of water gushing through their houses and this has brought news reporting to another stage. Now, news reporting is not only confined to publishing news to keep people updated but with the accessibility of the internet, things are no longer the same. However, during the earthquake, telephone lines in Japan was disrupted but this did not stop the Japanese from updating their status as messages from Facebook and Twitter serves as a platform to provide the latest news (Vinson, J , 2011).

Source: http://www.facebook.com/JapanEarthquakeTsunami2011

Shown above, is a page created by the people where news and videos are being uploaded to keep people updated about the situation and condition in the disaster struck area.

As a conclusion, it can be seen that the use of social networking sites is rather useful in disaster struck area where people use it as a platform to keep themselves updates and let the people know the situation in that area. One can never ignore the important and usefulness of social networking sites in this technology savvy world.

References

Vinson, J, 2011, “Japan’s Earthquake Shows The Strength of Social Networking”, WEBPRONEWS, viewed 12^th June 2011 http://www.webpronews.com/japan-earthquake-social-networkin-2011-03

Stephens, K, 2011, “Social Media and the Japan earthquake: What we can learn”, Social Media and Emergency Management, viewed 12^th June 2011 http://idisaster.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/social-media-and-the-japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-what-we-can-learn/