Impact of Social Media on Crisis management Article

During situations and events that cause widespread fear and awe, Media can play an incredibly important role in population management, dictating the messages that will be spread about the event, as well as updating the public on the current stance of the crisis itself. For example, Media is an incredibly useful tool when researching and new events arise for the California Wildfires. While staying on Social Media to update myself on the events, i noticed a little bit of the tactics that were used in different articles in order to update the nation on the statistics, missing persons reports, and damage inflicted on the california coast. The media should be focusing on things such as the most effected areas that the fires hit the hardest, how many lives the fires have taken as well as how many people are missing because of it, and the steps that should be taken in order to suppress the fires or at least stop it at certain areas. Rather, I have seen many reports that during crisis situations, Media outlets focus on how there may be public upheaval after the crisis is over and how the media tends to focus solely on damage and smaller effects. When wildfires and other crises occur, the media should steer further away from those types of things and focus their power and influence more towards spreading information on how to save lives and how to deescalate the situation families are in while going through the crisis. The Media should also be used as a warning tool in order to decrease the amount of loss people sustain rather than focusing on the hindsight of the situation. Having the massive influence and technology that the media has, they can play an even bigger role in saving lives and bringing more information to the people. Information that can truly help people more in wildfire crisis situations are “fire ecology, fire dependent ecosystems, “normal” fire return intervals, fuel management, prescribed fire, and the physical and mental health risk firefighters experience.”(Wildfire Today) Now, I am not saying that the media is the solution to stopping wildfires or even that its their job to do so, but the massive influence and effects on millions of people everyday can be a significant factor on decreasing the destruction and loss of life that Crisis situations have.