On Saturday, 13 January 2018, residents of Hawaii received a chilling message through their smartphones. It read, in all caps, BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. The message was mistakenly sent, but many residents lived in a threatened state of mind for the 38 minutes it took before a retraction was made. This study is based on a survey of 418 people who experienced the alert, recollecting their immediate responses, including how they attempted to verify the alert and how they used their mobile devices and social media for expressive interactions during the alert period. With the ongoing testing in the United States of nationwide Wireless Emergency Alerts, along with similar expansions of these systems in other countries, the event in Hawaii serves to illuminate how people understand and respond to mobile-based alerts. It shows the extreme speed that information—including misinformation—can flow in an emergency, and, for many, expressive communication affects people’s reactions.

2018年1月13日星期六，夏威夷居民通过智能手机收到了令人不寒而栗的消息。它用大写字母标明了对夏威夷的弹道导弹威胁。立即寻求庇护。这不是演习。该消息被错误地发送，但是许多居民在撤回之前花费了38分钟，处于威胁状态。这项研究基于对418位经历过警报的人的调查，并收集了他们的即时响应，包括他们如何尝试验证警报以及在警报期间如何使用移动设备和社交媒体进行表达性互动。随着美国在全国范围内对无线紧急警报的测试正在进行中，以及这些系统在其他国家/地区的类似扩展，在夏威夷举行的活动旨在阐明人们如何理解和响应基于移动的警报。它显示了信息（包括错误信息）在紧急情况下可以流动的极端速度，并且对于许多人而言，表达性交流会影响人们的反应。