On the Significance and Typology of social media application in the early stage of disaster

In Japan, it is said that the importance of social media was reconfirmed at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. For example, it is now possible to confirm the safety of acquaintances even if they cannot be contacted directly, with a message read notification. Alternatively, it is said that social media has played a very important role in sharing information of shelter and/or relief goods. However, the use of social media at the time of the Kumamoto earthquake in 2016 has become more noticeable than the conventional usage. Therefore, this paper presents a case study on the use of social media at the time of the Kumamoto earthquake. First, four examples that became a topic especially on the net will be introduced. Next, the causes of the conflict between mass media and social media are considered from two viewpoints: (1) change in logic required for disaster reporting, and (2) characteristics of social media. Finally, the relationship between mass media and social media is considered.