New Dilemma that Social Media Poses for Crisis Communication

Abstract

The popularization of social media has brought about a major change in the whole society. Crisis communication, an increasingly essential subject in a risky society, can not be spared, but not enough attention has been paid to it. The objective of the study is to unveil the impact social media have on crisis communication. By means of literature reading analysis, the author looks into the existing literature and sorts out 3 major differences social media make to crisis communication: the way crises are constructed and spread, the redistribution of discursive power in crisis communication, and instinct features of social media which affect crisis communication. After carefully interpreting, the author comes to the conclusion that social media is playing such a core part in crisis communication that higher demand for crisis communication management ought to be set.