Social Media Response to the 2025 Myanmar Earthquake: A Content Analysis of Digital Crisis Communication

Atar Thaung Htet, Htin Kyaw Lin

Abstract

This study examines the role of social media in crisis communication and disaster governance during the 2025 Myanmar Earthquake. In this study, we systematically investigate the content and functions of social media posts related to the 2025 Myanmar Earthquake by qualitative content analysis. The study examined 97 publicly available social media posts, which were purposefully sampled from Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X (Twitter), and YouTube from March 28 to April 4, 2025. Findings revealed three main functions of social media: information dissemination, emotional expression and community mobilization. Information dissemination was the dominant function (51.7%), followed by emotional expression (29.9%) and community mobilization (18.6%). Facebook was the most frequently represented platform, while organizational and public pages contributed the largest proportion of posts. The findings demonstrate that social media functioned as a multidimensional crisis communication mechanism supporting information sharing, emotional support, and collective action. From the perspective of public administration and disaster governance, the study emphasizes the importance of social media use for emergency communication, public information management, citizen engagement, and relief coordination. The study offers context-specific evidence from Myanmar and practical insights for strengthening digital communication in disaster governance.

Keywords

crisis response; content analysis; disaster communication; myanmar earthquake; social media

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References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.20961/sp.v21i2.125567

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