Fanning the Flames: An Examination of Uses and Gratifications Sought During the Gatlinburg Wildfires of 2016
Bartos CM. 2017. Fanning the Flames: An Examination of Uses and Gratifications Sought During the Gatlinburg Wildfires of 2016. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
ABSTRACT: This research set out to explore how individuals used Twitter during the Gatlinburg, Tennessee wildfire event of November 2016. More specifically, how and what did people from different geolocations share via Twitter during the crisis event and what gratifications were sought by their use of Twitter. A content analysis was completed on a stratified sample of tweets separated by geographic location. Based on prior uses and gratifications research, tweet and retweet content was coded as informational, social, and/or distractive. Findings from this research showed that individuals tweeted and retweeted at a fairly even rate despite their geographical location and that while information seeking and sharing was an important factor for users, social connectivity was the most important gratification to users during this crisis.
- Type
- Academic
- Authors
- Bartos, Colleen
- Date of Issue
- 2017-12-14
- Publisher
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- APHN, Appalachian Highlands Network, Chimney Tops 2 Fire, crisis, Gatlinburg, geographical location, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, GRSM, information, SER, social media, Southeast Region, thesis, Twitter, uses and gratifications, wildfire