Living a ‘Digital Life’ and ready to cope with crises? Highlighting young adults' conceptions of crisis and emergency preparedness

Abstract

Increasing numbers of people are spending more and more time in digital landscapes, with many still unknown consequences for crisis and emergency management. This exploratory, in-depth, qualitative interview study (N = 14) explores conceptions about local and individual crisis and emergency preparedness among a small group of young adults representing the most digitally savvy generation in Sweden. The results show that the respondents exhibit a complex and ambivalent attitude to crisis and emergency preparedness issues. Considering their digital habits and skills, the respondents emphasise their own responsibility, social ties, and expectations of help from the authorities and the local community when describing how they intend to face and manage a crisis in practice. This exploratory study contributes preliminary and tentative theoretical knowledge to a highly limited body of work specifically addressing citizens' crisis and emergency preparedness in a digitalized world.