Haiyan and Social Media

Haiyan and Social Media. What up?

One aspect would be that social media really helped people find solace after the typhoon hit. You could tweet people you want to find and just place a hashtag then certain groups would try to look for them and notify the public if they were found.

                                             -Aitana Lois Kaw 

Social media became an avenue for people to show their support to the victms of typhoon haiyan as seen in several tweets, photos and statuses. Influential people (politicians, athletes, celebrities, etc.), especially those from other countries, also used social media to encourage their followers to donate or support in any way (ex. Scarlett Johanson's youtube video). However, there were also issues of insensitiveness especially to social media users who were not directly affected by the typhoon. Many people looked down on those posting selfies, food pics and such because they think it inappopriate especially in this time when the nation is suffering (ex. 5 things filipinos shouldn't do on social media

                                             -Rielle Alcantara

Social media has become a very useful tool for disseminating news over the years. Personally, it was from a social media website where I first heard the news that a typhoon is about to hit the country and is said to be the strongest one in history. Consequently, it's most important use in the said situation is that, social media had become an avenue for people to exchange information regarding the survivors, the death toll and how could people, even from overseaas, help the victims of the said calamity.

                                            -Stephanie Cabana

Social media, when used properly, has helped a lot when it comes to disseminating information on how to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. It also helps the families of the victims be informed with how the victims are doing and whether they are safe and sound. Social media also has its downsides. Instead of trying to help, I've seen some tweets that say how the Filipino people deserved being hit by the Typhoon and various debates on religion. I think in these times, people should be sensitive with what they post in social media.

                                           -Raisa Regalado

Social media, when used properly, has helped a lot when it comes to disseminating information on how to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. It also helps the families of the victims be informed with how the victims are doing and whether they are safe and sound. Social media also has its downsides. Instead of trying to help, I've seen some tweets that say how the Filipino people deserved being hit by the Typhoon and various debates on religion. I think in these times, people should be sensitive with what they post in social media.

-Kristine Danielle Maximo

 Social media is a very powerful tool in disseminating information. So much so that if used properly, can help efforts in retrieval and rebuilding efforts but if it is abused or wrongfully used, social media can affect lives negatively. Before the typhoon hit, the power of social media allowed people to prepare for the oncoming typhoon. It did not fail in informing the public just how grand Typhoon Haiyan was. If the information they said was wrong, a limitation of social media which is they have the power to sensationalise news. In the aftermath of the typhoon, rumors spread that Vice President Binay was denied entry into a relief operations center set up by international volunteers but in reality it was just the VP greeting the soldiers and welcoming them. 

In the positive side, social media is being used to call for volunteers and donations for the survivors. The strong response of the people is probably contributed by social media in a way that they see what has happened in Visayas through social media. Aside from this, social media helped in looking for survivors so that family can find their family members. In conclusion, social media was used effectively in disseminating information but is limited to how people use it.

-Jared Ching

Social media is both a boon and a bane (double-edge sword). Although it is a very effective tool for disseminating useful info., it can also be used to spread black propaganda thus creating more chaos, anxiety, misunderstandings, etc. The key therefore is for us all to be vigilant in filtering the info. that we get and of course being responsible in sharing them

-Stella Megurine Salarda

Social media is very useful to get donations/help for the people that was affected by the typhoon. it is also one of the best medium of receiving an information or getting true updates and stories to what happened and because of that you’ll find or think what are the better ways to help the victims like other people that advertise their product that can help the victims of typhoon Haiyan through social media and you’ll see that many people are trying to help.

-KC Lozada

Social media provided a positive impact for the post-yolanda activities. missing, injured and dead persons are being tracked, pleadings and requests are being channeled faster to the authorities, and responses are getting more efficient. However, there are just some instances when such medium is being abused for a certain purpose that adds burden, not relief, for the yolanda victims.

-Kim Robert Cuevas de Leon

Social media has seriously played an important part of our lives. Whether posting food porn or statuses online, it has become a part of our routine. 

But this simple technology could be something that saves lives. When Yolanda hit the Philippines, specifically the Visayas region, news were all over: television, radio, papers but most importantly the internet, social media. News travel fast, and when they get tweeted, they travel faster. A lot of people took advantage of this, invites for relief operations or missions to the places hit.

Opinions on how the matter was being addressed always fed home pages. These opinions did not remain unread. Instead they were used to fuel to help the victims, as well as address a deeper issue. 

Social media is part of our lives, it's in the blood of our generation. May it not remain an avenue for rants and success, but for help and aid as well.

-Khara Katherine Uy