A few days ago, I accidentally locked myself out of my apartment while taking out the garbage (just a tad bit embarrassing). I had no keys, phone, or coat with me. My roommate Sara wasn’t home and I didn’t know her cell phone number by heart. I couldn’t reach my landlord because he was out of the country. All I could think was: “What am I going to do?”
My kind neighbour let me in her apartment and let me use her computer. I sent Sara and her boyfriend a frantic message via Facebook: “HELP! I have locked myself out of the apartment!” Within 10 minutes, Sara called our neighbour, and in another 15 minutes, she came home to unlock our front door.
Fortunately that wasn’t a real emergency, but more people around the world are turning to social media to seek help during times of actual crisis. According to a survey by the American Red Cross, one in five would try to contact responders through digital means such as e-mail, websites and social media if they could not reach 911. Over half of the respondents said they would use social media in the event of a disaster to let their relatives know they were safe. Social media has played an important role in sharing important information following the Haiti earthquake, and the recent protests in Egypt.
Technology is being created to meet this demand. An example is a recently created crowdsourcing iPhone app which alerts people trained in first aid if help is needed nearby.
Would you turn to social media if you needed help?
Take a look at this Mashable infographic that shows how people use technology during an emergency (click to enlarge):
