<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The literature on social media use in risk and crisis communication is growing fast, and it is time to take stock before looking forward. A review of 200 empirical studies in the area shows how the literature is indeed increasing and focusing on particular social media plat forms, users, and phases from risk to crisis relief. However, although spanning 40 countries, a large proportion of the world’s social media users are under-represented in the research. In addition, little attention is given to the question of who is actually reached through social media, and the effects of the digital divide are rarely discussed. This article suggests that more attention is given to the questions of equal access to information and ICTs, complementary media channels, and cultural diversity.</p>
</abstract>

The literature on social media use in risk and crisis communication is growing fast, and it is time to take stock before looking forward. A review of 200 empirical studies in the area shows how the literature is indeed increasing and focusing on particular social media plat forms, users, and phases from risk to crisis relief. However, although spanning 40 countries, a large proportion of the world’s social media users are under-represented in the research. In addition, little attention is given to the question of who is actually reached through social media, and the effects of the digital divide are rarely discussed. This article suggests that more attention is given to the questions of equal access to information and ICTs, complementary media channels, and cultural diversity.

Risk, Crisis, and Social Media: A systematic review of seven years’ research

Nordicom Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The literature on social media use in risk and crisis communication is growing fast, and it is time to take stock before looking forward. A review of 200...

Region	Number of studies	%
North America	105	52.5
Central America	3	1.5
South America	1	0.5
Western Europe	50	25
Eastern Europe	2	1
East Asia	36	18
Central Asia	0	0
South East Asia	7	3.5
South Asia	5	2.5
Middle East	7	3.5
Africa	10	5
Oceania	11	5.5

Issues of social media access	Publication year							Total
Issues of social media access	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	N=200	%
High accessibility	2	1	3	7	5	13	20	51	25.5
Digital divide	1	0	1	2	2	1	3	9	4.5
Varying access	0	0	0	1	2	0	4	7	3.5
Disability and social media	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	4	2

Social media users	Number of studies	%
Citizens / social media users in general	99	49.5
Public or government institution	42	21
Business organisation	41	20.5
Students	25	12.5
NGO	24	12
Media / Journalists	23	11.5
Public relations or communi cations staff	11	5.5
University / college	5	2.5
Other	14	7

Risk, Crisis, and Social Media: A systematic review of seven years’ research

Published Online: Dec 08, 2017

Page range: 1 - 17

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0393

Keywords
social media, risk communication, crisis communication, research review, research trends, digital divide, geographical focus, social media choice, social media users

© 2017 Joel Rasmussen et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Geographical spread of social media users studied (per cent of 200 analysed studies)

The number of studies addressing issues of social media access (per cent of 200 analysed studies)

Social media users studied (per cent of 200 analysed studies)

Risk, Crisis, and Social Media: A systematic review of seven years’ research

Published Online: Dec 08, 2017

Page range: 1 - 17

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0393

Keywordssocial media, risk communication, crisis communication, research review, research trends, digital divide, geographical focus, social media choice, social media users

© 2017 Joel Rasmussen et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Geographical spread of social media users studied (per cent of 200 analysed studies)

The number of studies addressing issues of social media access (per cent of 200 analysed studies)

Social media users studied (per cent of 200 analysed studies)

Keywords
social media, risk communication, crisis communication, research review, research trends, digital divide, geographical focus, social media choice, social media users