Data Points

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

After Posting About an Emergency to a Social Media Site, How Quickly Do You Expect Help?

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Thirty-six percent of surveyed U.S. adults said they would expect help to arrive in less than an hour if they posted a request for emergency assistance on a social media website, according to a recent survey by the American Red Cross.

The survey found that 40% of surveyed U.S. adults would expect emergency assistance to arrive within one to three hours of posting a request for help on a social media website. Four percent of surveyed U.S. adults said they would expect help to arrive in four to six hours and 6% said they would expect help to arrive in more than six hours. Fourteen percent of surveyed U.S. adults said they did not know how long it would take help to arrive.

The survey is based on a nationally representative online poll of 1,017 U.S. adults and a telephone survey of 1,018 U.S. adults. Both surveys were conducted between June 14 and June 17.

Source: American Red Cross, "Social Media in Disasters and Emergencies"

Reader Comments:
  • 2
  • 10/01/2012
  • thomas meehan

I’m a small business owner and I have worked very hard to train my employees to answer the phones and handle questions immediately online at www.md247.com I own a Telemedicine company and if someone’s calling about an emergency or contacting us using a social media platform I would be wondering why they didn’t dial 911. If you need to speak to a Doctor anytime day or night then contact us. We’re here to help and we’re affordable and convenient.
Sincerley,
Thomas P Meehan
Founder
MD247.com

  • 1
  • 10/01/2012
  • Barbara Hales

Perhaps you can make this more clear.
The problems faced with this piece of the survey being posted is:
1. Why would a person contact a social media site instead of
calling 911 or a close friend?
2. If a person was contacting a social media site because the phone lines were down and the roads were impassable, how would anyone expect a response within any given period of time?
3) If social media sites state that they are for informational purposes only and not to treat a specific individual with a problem that is being posted, why would anyone expect a response?
4) If someone was contacting a social media site because they had no phone and were incapacitated but had the ability to jump onto a social media site, why wouldn't they just put out a shout to their "connections" and friends to call 911?

Perhaps a hyperlink to the original survey would contribute more to comprehension.

Thanks,
Barbara Hales, M.D.
The Medical Strategist
The Medica



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