Would you turn to social media in an emergency?

When Haiti was struck by an earthquake last January, Facebook and Twitter were flooded with messages. Some people were using these popular social media tools to let their loved ones know they were ok. Others were using it to ask for help for themselves or for others.

The Haiti earthquake isn’t the only example of this. There is an indication that more web users are turning to social media to seek help for themselves or others during emergencies—and they expect first responders to be listening.

The American Red Cross recently surveyed 1,058 adults on this issue. The survey found that one in five would try to contact responders through digital means such as e-mail, websites and social media if they could not reach 9-1-1.

If web users knew of someone in need of assistance, 44 percent would ask other people in their network to contact authorities, 35 percent would post a request for help directly on a response agency’s Facebook page, and 28 percent would send a direct Twitter message to responders.

Another 69 percent of responders said that emergency response agencies should be monitoring social media sites in order to quickly send help – and nearly half believe a response agency is probably already responding to any urgent request they might see.

For more survey results click here.

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