Persistence of risk awareness: Manchester arena bombing on 22 May 2017

Abstract

Digital technologies are providing new opportunities for the exchange of information, which can be used to disseminate information about events of general societal concern, such as a rare extreme terrorist attack, exemplified by the Manchester Arena bombing of 22 May 2017. Social media which are largely based on digital technologies, are becoming an important source of information exchange. This leads to questions about the impact of information webs on the persistence of risk awareness. What are the patterns of usage of such sources as Wikipedia when people are searching for information about major disasters? Is there any correlation between publications in mass media about the event and the intention of people to search for further information about the event while using Wikipedia? What are the temporal dynamics of the Wikipedia Manchester bombing page traffic? The research aim of this study is to address these salient questions through statistical analysis of Wikipedia access. The outcome is relevant for gauging public risk awareness, which is important because of the important role of public assistance in preventing terrorist attacks.