Abstract
This study examines the emerging use of social media in complex social phenomenon, natural disasters. By adopting an affordance perspective, we focus on how local communities harness the power of social media in disaster response. Using an interpretive approach, we identify different affordances of social media and examine how these affordances enable local communities to respond to disaster situations and achieve social outcomes in the case of 2015 Myanmar flood. The lack of theoretical development in research on societal consequences of emerging technologies (e.g. social media) makes this study timely, relevant, and worthwhile. Our findings demonstrate that social media transformed the way citizens, organizations, emergency responders, and government think and act creatively, improvising new means of addressing the challenges posted by a disaster. This study generates theoretical and practical implications for understanding the role of social media in addressing societal challenges in developing countries.
Recommended Citation
Oo Tha, Khet Khet; Pan, Shan L; and Sandeep, M.S., "Exploring Social Media Affordances in Natural Disaster: Case Study of 2015 Myanmar Flood" (2017). ACIS 2017 Proceedings. 109.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2017/109