Role of Social Media 1

Vancouver Island University

Critical Analysis: Role of Social Media

Katie Truong & Hailey Lai

Hospitality Management Program

HOSP 460 F21N01 Hospitality Risk Management

Instructor: Jenn Houtby-Ferguson

October 3, 2021
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Introduction

The study ‘Using of Social Media in Times of Crisis’ (2013) were conducted by Ashley

Schroeder, Lori Pennington-Gray, Holly Donohoe and Spiro Kiousis, who are professors of

Tourism and related departments at University of Florida. Data of the study was collected from

tourists of top five growing markets (Australia, Brazil, China, India and South Korea) who travel

inbound the US. The study focuses on examining international tourists’ propensity of turning to

social media in situ to seek crisis information under the impacts of three internal and

demographic variables which are nationality, risk perceptions and smartphone use during past

travel. The four professors came together with Laura Mandala from Mandala Research to carry

out research named ‘Do Cultural Differences Influence Tourists’ Likelihood to Seek Information

via Social Media in the Event of a Crisis?’ (2016) specified in cultural differences’ influence on

social media use if crises were to take place. The two articles’ key terms surround aspects of

social media, smartphones use, international travel, tourists’ perceptions and behaviors, tourism

crisis management and communication, cultural impacts. The World Health Organization also

brought up an article discussing the issue of misinformation and disinformation. The article

introduced a new term called infodemiology, which can be explained as the study of information

and information management strategies (World Health Organization).

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Analysis

This paper’s key themes concentrate on the role social media plays in the event of a

crisis, international tourists’ likelihood of using social media during the time of crisis, factors

influence their decisions (specifically nationality, perceptions of risks and smartphone use during

past travels), whether cultural differences bring about different social media usage patterns of

tourists’ subpopulations, the importance of understanding visitors’ perceptions, behaviors and

responses in order to practice effective crisis communication and management as well as

strategies to avoid misinformation and disinformation when being exposed to overwhelming

crisis information.

The article Using Social Media in Times of Crisis conducted by Ashley Schroeder, Lori

Pennington-Gray, Holly Donohoe and Spiro Kiousis mainly discusses international travelers'

motivation of resorting to social media during times of crisis. The sharp escalation in

international travel as well as various types of crises have put the tourism industry and tourists at

risks. When traveling abroad, tourists cope with unfamiliar destinations, social networks lost,

language barriers, lack of awareness of information channels in order to get updated of risks

happening at the destinations (Schroeder, Pennington-Gray, Donohoe & Kiousis, 2013). When

there is a possibility of risk happening during international travel, social media is an ideal source

where tourists can immediately seek and share risk information. Social media is also used as a

peer-to-peer communication tool that helps visitors reach hard-to-obtain information. (Sutton et

al., 2008). It moreover influences an individual’s behaviors and responses to risky situations
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while traveling (Schroeder, Pennington-Gray, Donohoe & Kiousis, 2013). Thus, social media is

recommended to become a standard when it comes to tourism related business activities and

integrated into an indispensable part of crisis management and communication (Pennington-Gray

et al., 2011).

Furthermore, the article also analyzes three key factors that influence international

visitors’ likelihood of using social media in the event of a crisis while traveling, which are

nationality, risk perceptions and smartphone use during past travel. The analysis result came out

that nationality has a minor impact on international visitors’ propensity to use social media

during times of crisis (Schroeder, Pennington-Gray, Donohoe & Kiousis, 2013). Perceptions of

the likelihood of crime, disease, physical, equipment failures, cultural barriers, weather, and

political crises were closely correlated with the likelihood of resorting to social media while

traveling (Schroeder, Pennington-Gray, Donohoe & Kiousis, 2013). As expected, international

travelers who access smartphones daily during past travel have a high tendency of using social

media if crisis were to happen (Schroeder, Pennington-Gray, Donohoe & Kiousis, 2013).

Additionally, it is concluded that a nation’s GDP determines its social media level of adoption

(Kohut et al., 2011; Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Project, 2010). The younger

generation is more adaptable to the use of social media during crisis (American Red Cross,

2011). Women and families with children also tend to contact with others to inform their safety

via social media platforms (American Red Cross, 2011). Even though what I learned from the

study is extremely helpful to my knowledge and future career, I personally found the results of

this study quite limited since it only examines top five emerging growing markets of tourists

traveling to the US, there was little noticeable vary in GDP level and the respondents of the

survey are generally affluent. It would be much easier to tell whether nationality can impact the
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usage of social media during times of crisis if the study considers countries and people of

different income levels. I also believe that apart from three specific variables examined in the

study, in order to come up with more inclusive and accurate results, there should be further

research into other internal and external factors that may affect social media use during crisis.

The article from the World Health Organization (WHO): “Let’s flatten the infodemic

curve” has indicated how information is exposed and managed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The article introduces a new term: “infodemiology” which is the study of COVID-19

information and how to manage that information properly. It also mentions the differences

between information, misinformation, and disinformation and how to navigate the last two.

There is lots of new information which I took from reading the article. One of them is the

seven tips for navigating the infodemic. The article has listed details about ways to decide which

type of information source is trustworthy from how to assess the source, go beyond the

headlines, identify the author to check the date, examine the supporting evidence, check the

biases, and turn to fact-checkers.

Humans are an inquisitive and inventive species. We want to learn about the world

around us and be informed about the difficulties we face and how to address them (WHO). One

more piece of information which I also find helpful is the classification of information,

misinformation, and disinformation. Things that are correct to the best of our current knowledge

are referred to as information (WHO). On the other side, misinformation is inaccurate

information (WHO). It is also erroneous information that was not prepared with the goal of

causing harm to others (WHO). Unlike misinformation, disinformation is incorrect information

that is spread with the goal of benefiting or harming others (WHO). The language style of the
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article is easy and not wordy to follow. Personally, I find the information is very helpful to find,

especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The article “Do Cultural Differences Influence Tourists’ Likelihood to Seek Information

Via Social Media in the Event of a Crisis?” is a study conducted by professors of Tourism and

tourism-related departments at the University of Florida. This study looked at the impact of

international travelers' cultural backgrounds on their likelihood of using social media to seek

information in the event of a crisis while on the road. Surveys of overseas respondents from

South Korea, China, India, Australia, and Brazil were used to collect data for the study.

The article stated out interesting information from the research such as there has been a

proven increase in the frequency and intensity of global crises recently (Drabek, 2009) or

African Americans' willingness to seek information via social media if a crisis occurred while

traveling domestically, but not the frequency and type of regular social media activity

(Pennington-Gray et al., 2012). I have also noticed from the article that the higher the uncertainty

avoidance score (UAI) one country obtains, the less likely the people from the country will use

social media to seek information in the event of a crisis while they are traveling. It was also

expected that different cultures would seek information from different sources during a crisis

while traveling (Schroeder, Pennington-Gray, Donohoe & Kiousis, 2016). This theory was not

disproved because it was discovered that risk information search preferences differed across

cultures (Schroeder, Pennington-Gray, Donohoe & Kiousis, 2016). Furthermore, rather than the

uncertainty avoidance factor, this link may be best described by the country's level of progress

(i.e., technological adoption, Internet penetration) (Schroeder, Pennington-Gray, Donohoe &

Kiousis, 2016).
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The article has used APA structures properly. Each statement in the writing is supported

with evidence and the conclusion and implications indicates a clear summary of the content of

the study. I find the information in the article helpful within the risk management within the

hospitality sector. Knowing how social media an effect on the behaviors of international tourists

in the event of a crisis helps hoteliers to have a better idea on ways to let tourists know what they

should and should not do when an unexpected situation occurs on the right channels.

Conclusion

The two articles have conducted studies examining the tendency of using social media of

international tourists to seek crisis information and the role of cultural differences in the

influence of tourists’ likelihood to use social media for crisis information. The studies have

successfully demonstrated some key ideas about the perspective of tourists towards using social

media during the time of crisis while traveling. However, further research should be conducted

on both studies as the scale of research and data found is still limited to some extent. The article

written by the World Health Organization gives insights on the term “infodemiology” and the

methods on how to filter the information being absorbed from the external source. The difference

between misinformation and disinformation is also clearly discussed.

I would totally recommend those articles to others who are studying or working within

risk management and hospitality or tourism as they are extremely helpful to have an idea about

how have tourists get to the right information on the right channels during this sensitive time due

to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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References:

American Red Cross. (2011, Summer). Social media in disasters and emergencies. Retrieved

from http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/pdf/SocialMediainDisasters.pdf

Drabek, T. (2009). The human side of disaster. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Kohut, A., Wike, R., Menasce Horowitz, J., Simmons, K., Poushter, J., & Barker, C. (2011,

December 20). Global digital communication: Texting, social networking popular worldwide.

Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/12/Pew-Global-

Attitudes-Technology-Report-FINAL-December-20-2011.pdf

Pennington-Gray, L., London, B., Cahyanto, I. & Klages, W. (2011). Expanding the tourism

crisis management planning framework to include social media: Lessons from the Deepwater

Horizon Oil Spill 2010. International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, 1(3), 239-253.

Pennington-Gray, L., Kaplanidou, K., & Schroeder, A. (2012). Drivers of social media
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use among African Americans in the event of a crisis. Natural Hazards, 1-19. doi:

10.1007/s11069-012-0101-0, Online First, February 6.

Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Project. (2010, December 15). Global publics embrace

social networking. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2010/12/15/global-

publics-embrace-social-networking/

Schroeder, A., Pennington-Gray, L., Donohoe, H. & Kiousis, S. (2013). Using Social Media in

Times of Crisis, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30:1-2, 126-143.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10548408.2013.751271

Schroeder, A., Pennington-Gray, L., Donohoe, H., Kiousis, S., & Mandala, L. (2016). “Do

cultural differences influence tourists’ likelihood to seek information via social media in the

event of a crisis?”. Tourism Travel and Research Association: Advancing Tourism Research

Globally. 11. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/ttra/2012/Oral/11

Sutton, J., Palen, L. & Shklovski, I. (2008). Backchannels on the front lines: Emergent uses of

social media in the 2007 Southern California wildfires. Retrieved from

https://cmci.colorado.edu/~palen/Papers/iscram08/BackchannelsISCRAM08.pdf

World Health Organization. Let’s flatten the infodemic curve. Retrieved from

https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/let-s-flatten-the-infodemic-curve
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