Vol.58 – Reality of Social Media Among Victims of the Japan Disaster

Information on the Japan disaster has been online and shared by social media worldwide ever since the disaster broke out on March 11 so everyone believed that social media played an important part in sharing information about the disaster.




However, the reality was that social media had not bee effective in the devastated area. This is because the information was shared mostly among people who had not suffered from the disaster, according to an article of Nikkei, Japan’s leading newspaper specialized in business and economy, reported on June 19.



Why was it? How is it now?



1. Why was the social media ineffective among victims of the disaster?



Of course it was because the electricity and telecommunication systems went down by the tsunami; however, that is not all the reason.



The biggest reason is digital divide. It is those who leverage PC and smart phones to get and share online information that benefit from social media. People who do not leverage such IT devices will not. Such a digital divide became prominent by the disaster.



2. Is there any data to support such a digital divide?



Yes, there is. It is the survey result of how telecommunication is used announced by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) for 2010 announced in May.



According to the result, 83% of individuals in Tokyo use the Internet when it is only 71.8% in average for the 3 devastated prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.



When it comes to how SNS is used, only 5.4% in average for the 3 devastated prefectures use SNS, which is only half of that of Tokyo.



3. Has the digital divide been diminishing since the disaster?



Yes, there is a sign that the situation is changing in the devastated area and that the digital divide has been diminishing.



Quite a few victims still living in the disaster started using Twitter to share information online with friends living in the same village; i.e. among people of real, offline community. Such communities, in some cases, have expanded to outside of the offline community such as professors in Tokyo specialized in bio energy, connected online.



They would share and discuss online about such topic as possibilities of generating energy from algae in the devastated area.



4. Who taught such victims to use Twitter?



It was a man who had started a venture business in the area of optics in Sendai. In his hometown in the devastated area of Tohoku, there has been a customs in which friends in neighbourhood get together to enjoy conversation over tea. That is to say people were “connected” in the real, offline world.



5. Why did the man teach Twitter to victims?



It was to maintain the current community/network of the victims.



Victims living in the same evacuation centres constituting the same community are connected offline. However, they would be disconnected when their life in evacuation finished; some people would move to temporary houses, some would return to their home, and some others would move to other parts in Japan. Thus their current “community” would be demolished.



The man wanted to maintain the network/community leveraging the Internet and therefore he returned to his hometown in the devastated area to proliferate the Internet and social media. He also called for others to join him and by the end of May, 10 people joined him from such places as Hokkaido University.



As long as connected, the Internet and social media can leash its power and potential.





In the next article, the author would like to introduce how the Internet and social media has started to become a critical part of the daily lives victims.





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Surprisingly, the Internet and social media had not been ineffective among victims of the Japan disaster immediately after the breakout of the disaster. It was not only because electricity and mobile phone terminals went down but primarily digital divide. However, with an initiative by a man, many victims started using Twitter to share information online. This would also contribute to maintaining network/community that is likely to be abolished when living in evacuation centres finishes for victims.