Persistence of Risk Awareness: Manchester Area Bombing on 22 May 2017

Yosipof, A., Woo, G., & Komendantova, N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2568-6179 (2023). Persistence of Risk Awareness: Manchester Area Bombing on 22 May 2017. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 94 e103805. 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103805.

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Abstract

Every time a significant societal catastrophe occurs, the resulting trauma intensifies the sense of risk awareness, which often wanes in the public consciousness over time. Even the most widely covered and important events, though, can fade from people's memories over time or even become the topic of false information. A subjective reality regarding the event, its causes, and its effects may be created as a result of cognitive biases and the dependence on shortcuts that these characteristics of human cognition induce. These biases can cause erroneous judgments and other types of irrationality if they are not addressed. Information on these events can be spread through digital technologies, which are currently opening up new avenues for information exchange. The historical event which is a case study of our research took place on May 22, 2017, at the Manchester Arena concert venue, more than five years ago. This raises concerns about the way in which these cognitive biases are being addressed through information webs. What are the trends in how people use websites like Wikipedia to find information about catastrophic events like the Manchester bombing? Is there a connection between the purpose of individuals to use social media to look up more details about an event after it has been covered in the media? What are the temporal dynamics of the traffic on the Wikipedia page for the Manchester bombing? Our analysis of the Wikipedia traffic data shows persistent interest in this historical event with seasonal picks on Memorial Day.

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