Good grief: the role of social mobile media in the 3.11 earthquake disaster in Japan

Abstract

While the deployment of social mobile media expands earlier modes of civic engagement and media, it also departs from previous media by providing various modes of networked visual and aural communication with greater affective personalisation. In news media of late, much has been touted about the agency of social and mobile media in the events of political uprising or at times of natural disasters and crisis management. While these events didn't happen because of social media, the media did impact upon how we experienced the situation. This leads us to ask: just how helpful are social mobile media in maintaining relationships in times of crisis management and how, if at all, do they depart from previous media and methods? Drawing from case studies conducted with participants living in Tokyo at the time of the horrific events surrounding Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster of 11 March 2011 (3.11), as well as a historical discussion of media usage in times of crisis in Japan, this article reflects upon the role of new media in helping, if at all, people manage crisis and grief. We argue that while social media provides new channels for affective cultures in the form of mobile intimacy, it also extends upon earlier media practices and rituals such as the postcard.