Likes, comments, and emergency responses: exploring the burden of social media tourism on land managers and the need for risk communication

Figures & data

Table 1. Interviewee and survey participant characteristics.

	Interviewee (N = 18)	Survey participant (N = 14)
State	N (%)	N (%)
New South Wales	7 (39)	4 (29)
Queensland	9 (50)	7 (50)
Victoria	1 (6)	1 (7)
Northern Territory	1 (6)	0
Multi state	0	2 (14)
Professional Role	N (%)	N (%)
Frontline staff (e.g., Ranger)	8 (44)	1 (7)
Managerial/Executive level	10 (56)	13 (93)
Type of land management organisation	N (%)	N (%)
Local Council	5 (28)	2 (14)
National Park Service	13 (72)	10 (71)
Nationwide organisation	0	2 (14)
Total	18 (100)	14 (100)

Table 2. Potential risk communication strategies identified by land managers.

Risk mitigation strategy	Quote	Reason for use
Social media information campaign	How do we keep growing that to that conversation sphere of influence for other people as well?” So if we – I guess all that’s in our power is to continue showing the people doing the right thing. And then we just thought if we could do a daggy campaign where we maybe highlight, “This is what a good park visitor looks like. This is what a photo looks like that we can reshare. Be like this, don’t be like that. P15	Social media campaigns to spread awareness, change a behaviour, or convey a message have been used by numerous companies, government agencies and public relations firms for many years. There is the potential to try such a campaign to inform social media users about the dangers of selfies.
Selfie specific warning signage	Within our organisation we are only just starting to promote safe selfies. That’s all very new to us, and we are starting to come up with signage and communication to put in our parks to advertise that people need to consider it. P7	Signs warning specifically about the dangers of taking selfies could be installed at infamously dangerous selfie locations. Signs have been used for decades to warn of other hazards in the natural environment. However, the evidence for their effectiveness is mixed and depends on the environmental context and the demographics of visitors.
Messaging via Influencers (on social media)	maybe we use the influencers. Like I said, who do these cohort of people who want to run around and get a selfie, who do they look up to? Who influences them, their behaviour? Maybe that would work P6	Influencers are regularly used by companies to spread a message. Influencers are utilized because of their specific followings online and their ability to reach a more specific target audience. Influencers may be useful to use in spreading a public health message about selfie taking.

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.