Objective
Social media have become one of the most important communication platforms in societies in recent years, and their role in information dissemination, shaping public opinion, facilitating social interactions, and managing critical situations has increased significantly. Crises, including natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, pandemics, and storms, as well as human-made crises such as social incidents, terrorist attacks, and widespread disruptions, are consistently associated with uncertainty, information shortages, and the urgent need for decision-making. Under such circumstances, social media have emerged as essential tools for crisis management due to their characteristics, including rapid information dissemination, two-way communication capabilities, user-generated content production, and the ability to create collective collaboration networks. Despite the extensive potential of social media in reducing the consequences of crises, these platforms possess a dual nature and can simultaneously function either as instruments for crisis control and management or as factors that intensify crises. On the one hand, users can contribute significantly to mitigating crisis-related damages through sharing news, field reports, assistance requests, organizing volunteer activities, and providing social support. On the other hand, the dissemination of fake news, rumors, unverified information, and emotional reactions may increase social anxiety, public confusion, and the complexity of crisis management processes. Therefore, identifying behavioral patterns of social media users during crises and determining the indicators that explain desirable or undesirable user behaviors are essential for designing effective communication systems in crisis management. Despite numerous studies examining the role of social media in crisis management, a considerable proportion of previous research has primarily focused on positive media functions, such as information dissemination, warning systems, and communication facilitation, while paying less attention to a comprehensive framework of user behaviors encompassing informational, social, emotional, participatory, and supportive dimensions. Furthermore, the absence of an integrated framework for explaining desirable user behaviors in crisis situations represents a significant research gap in this field. Accordingly, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying behavioral indicators of social media users during crises and developing an optimal behavioral model for online social media in the management of incidents and crises.
Research Methodology
The present study was applied in terms of purpose and qualitative with a descriptive–explanatory approach in terms of methodology. Thematic analysis using a thematic network approach was employed for data analysis. Thematic analysis is a valid qualitative research method that enables the identification, organization, and interpretation of meaningful patterns within qualitative data. In this study, the data were analyzed and categorized at three levels: basic themes, organizing themes, and global themes. The research population consisted of experts, university professors, researchers in media studies, communication sciences, media management, cultural studies, and crisis management specialists in Tehran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling using the snowball technique; accordingly, individuals with scientific and practical experience in the research area introduced other relevant experts. The selection criteria included having relevant academic backgrounds in fields such as communication sciences, management, journalism, and media management; possessing related scientific and research experience; having published articles or conducted research activities in the field of social media and crises; and having at least 10 years of professional experience in media or crisis management. In total, 18 experts participated in the study. Data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews. Each interview lasted between 30 and 45 minutes, and the questions were designed to identify experts’ experiences, perspectives, and perceptions regarding social media user behaviors during crisis situations. The interview process continued until theoretical saturation was achieved, meaning that no new themes or conceptual data emerged from additional interviews. Data analysis was conducted using MAXQDA software. In the initial stage, interview transcripts were repeatedly reviewed and initial codes were extracted. Subsequently, similar codes were categorized into basic themes, and organizing and global themes were developed in subsequent stages. To assess the reliability of the analysis, inter-coder agreement was examined. The calculated Kappa coefficient using SPSS software was 0.82, indicating a desirable level of agreement between coders and acceptable reliability of the research findings.

Findings
The findings revealed that social media user behavior during crises is a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing informational, social, communicative, supportive, and emotional dimensions. During the data analysis process, 133 basic themes were initially extracted from the interviews. After reviewing and merging similar concepts, these themes were categorized into 15 organizing themes. The organizing themes included: analysis of information dynamics and dissemination speed; belonging and volunteer solidarity; media literacy and content analysis; emotions and reactions to situations; virtual assistance and support; monitoring and analysis of situations; public organization and collaboration; guidelines and event management; service provision and support; improvement of information systems; surveys and communication establishment; data mining and prediction; manifestation of creativity and cultural solidarity during crises; media interactions and collective orientation; and structuring and situational analysis.
In the final stage of analysis, these organizing themes were integrated into four main global themes that constituted the final framework of the research model. The first global theme, “Information Analysis and Systemic Management,” included components such as information dissemination speed, data flow monitoring, user behavior analysis, data mining, prediction of future trends, and improvement of information systems. This theme indicates that social media during crises are not merely tools for message transmission but can function as dynamic information systems for understanding situations, anticipating needs, and supporting decision-making processes. The second global theme, “Social Solidarity and Interactions,” reflects the role of social media in facilitating collective participation, organizing volunteer activities, forming support groups, creating social campaigns, and strengthening social belonging during crises.
Discussion & Conclusion
The findings demonstrated that users during crises are not merely information recipients but become active social actors who can participate in problem-solving processes and reducing crisis consequences. The third global theme, “Education and Communication Enhancement,” emphasizes the importance of improving media literacy, information verification, training in appropriate media behaviors, establishing two-way communication with the public, and developing communication guidelines during crises. According to the findings, successful crisis management requires empowering users to identify reliable information, prevent rumor dissemination, and participate consciously in digital environments. The fourth global theme, “Support and Social Responses,” encompasses the emotional, supportive, and service-related dimensions of user behaviors. During crises, users play a significant role in social responses through expressing emotions, showing empathy, requesting assistance, providing virtual services, offering psychological support, and organizing financial and humanitarian aid. The findings of the present study demonstrate that social media user behavior during crises is not limited merely to information sharing but involves a complex combination of cognitive, communicative, emotional, and social activities. The proposed model indicates that social media can serve as a social infrastructure for information management, strengthening social capital, public education, and collective support during critical situations. The findings are consistent with previous studies. Research on the role of social media in crisis management has shown that these platforms can perform functions such as awareness creation, warning dissemination, news reporting, mobilization, situational analysis, and social reconstruction during pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis phases. However, by presenting a more comprehensive model, the present study emphasizes the active role of users and the interaction between individual behaviors and collective processes in digital environments. Based on the findings, crisis management in the era of social media requires simultaneous attention to both the opportunities and threats associated with these platforms. Responsible organizations and institutions can utilize social network data analysis, information monitoring systems, sentiment analysis tools, and artificial intelligence technologies to identify early signs of crises, social needs, and behavioral trends among users. Furthermore, enhancing public media literacy, educating users about information verification, and establishing official communication channels can prevent the spread of misinformation and reduce the escalation of crisis consequences.