THERE is an element in social media that magnifies the severity of a situation by over a tenfold every time a crisis hits. It creates a space in virtual reality filled with panic, fake news, and people arguing with each other, and in the process losing the objective of information dissemination -- to maintain people's safety. These social media posts are debate competitions that nobody wins, a means to gain attention and validate personal opinions, and a spiral that anyone can fall into without proper orientation.
But the problem is crises are a constant in society. They could appear one after the other, or emerge at the same time. If we don't educate ourselves on responsible social media usage, we could lose the potential of social media to save lives, and further complicate the situation instead.
News about the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (nCoV), a contagious respiratory virus exhibiting flu-like symptoms, hit shortly after a series of calamities affected some parts of the Philippines. Earthquakes were felt in Davao and some parts of Mindanao in October to December 2019, the Taal Volcano erupted in January 2020, and the African Swine Fever (ASF), a contagious haemorrhagic viral disease for domestic and wild pigs, affected hogs in some parts of Mindanao in February 2020. Understandably, emotions are still running high, and it is recorded on social media history.
While these are all worthy of our concern and the public is always reminded to be cautious, with every unregulated like, share and post, the panic on social media can spread faster than any contagious virus that may befall any part of this world. It's a social media epidemic.
Here are ways to counter this ripple effect on social media.
1.) Read the news before sharing
Be wary of click baits. Sometimes the story is different from what the title says.
2.) Rely on official news channels
Learn to recognize informal news pages which are more likely to create fake news, and rely only on verified sources such as major media channels and established news agencies.
3.) Research and confirm the validity of information before sharing Friends and family may share news that aren't verified. A quick Google search may help verify information.
4.) Don't create and spread fake news
Stick to the facts. Chain messages and fake information often surface whenever there's a crisis, be it environmental or health related. Don't share or forward these. More importantly, don't create one.
5.) Don't panic -- but if you do, do it offline
If you panic online, people are more likely to panic too.
6.) Disconnect
If your going online is starting to pull you into that panic spiral, or if you catch yourself contributing to it, take a break from social media and wait until the hype dies down.
Social media is brimming with potential when it comes to crisis management. Let's do our part in educating each other on proper social media usage. With the right orientation, we can use social media to make lives better and promote a well-informed society.