Profile of a typical mobile SMS user in emergency situations (empirical study in an urban flood prone area)

Abstract

Employing existing technology for a new purpose has become popular, especially in mobile phone technology. In the context of use for early warning messages, the existing technology that is commonly used is SMS (Short Messaging Services). This study focuses on understanding the profile of a typical mobile SMS user in emergency situations in an urban flood prone area. This profile was assessed based on the mobile devices' preparedness; ease of use (EOU) for using SMS, confidence in SMS skill, satisfaction and frequency of use (FOU). A survey was conducted in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia for data collection. The respondents for this study were voluntarily respondents. Our study found that the user's level of education and FOU for SMS, influences the usage of SMS in emergency conditions.