Using social media during natural disasters is comforting, empowering, study finds

A research conducted by the University of Western Sydney (UWS) found that the use of social media during natural disasters can limit psychological damage, reports the Australian. Based on a survey of more than 1100 users about their social media experiences during the Queensland floods, Cyclone Yasi, the New Zealand earthquakes and the recent disasters in Japan, the study found people relied on a mix of formal and informal information and then re-posted and re-tweeted useful links, thus acting as "amplifiers of official information."