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There's plenty of toilet paper - so why are people hoarding it?
The obsession with toilet paper
While fighting the new virus, people seem to have got obsessed with toilet paper. However, hoarding toilet paper is nothing new. In 1973 and in 2013 the USA and Venezuela had already gone through similar situations, due to rumors spreading and a drop in production.
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The obsession with toilet paper
While fighting the new virus, people seem to have got obsessed with toilet paper. However, hoarding toilet paper is nothing new. In 1973 and in 2013 the USA and Venezuela had already gone through similar situations, due to rumors spreading and a drop in production.
People's need to hoard toilet paper
Even though the US has been mass-producing toilet paper since the late 1800s, people still seem to have an issue with this very product and, therefore, buy it in huge quantities, especially during pandemic times.
This is known as 'zero risk bias' by risk experts and it describes a person's behavior when trying to eliminate a superficial risk entirely rather than just reducing a big risk, everything in order to feel safer.
Successfully dealing with shortages
While we are all facing the biggest challenge of our life, the 2020 pandemic, our behaviors are slowly starting to change. For instance, hoarding toilet paper is not something common, at least not in modern societies. Still, it is happening worldwide these days.
Among the most efficient ways to handle shortages of any kind, shops could introduce rationing certain products or even individuals could try and convince each other that there is no real need to hoard staff, such as toilet paper, as we are not talking about unlimited resources here.
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Panic Buying
The world is seeing panic buying in supermarkets, with items like toilet paper, milk, soda, hand sanitizers, etc. flying off the shelves, especially in places with confirmed cases of the virus.
...Downsides of Panic Buying
- Panic buying makes people feel in charge of the situation, while seemingly mundane measures like hand-washing, which are actually impactful, seem ordinary.
- The problem comes when people overbuy in their over-panicked state of mind (irrational stockpiling), making the shortages worse than they really are.
- Speculators also take advantage of panic buying and raise prices of essential items like face masks, forcing companies to take appropriate measures.
Loss Aversion
..is a principle which makes people do things so that they don't feel regretful later.
People are panic-buying for the same reason too, with social media and news media amplifying the sense of scarcity.
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Panic buying
Panic-buying supplies is one way people have coped with uncertainty over epidemics. People feel like their survival is threatened, and they need to do something to feel like they're in control.
...Causes of panic
Panic starts when the emotional center of the brain wants us to get out of harm's way now, with no care how we do it. However, the part of the brain that handles your behavioral responses first wants to think through the situation.
Panic sets in when the more rational part of your brain gets overrun by emotion to such an extent that adrenaline kicks in.
Serious drawbacks of panic
When we're in immediate danger of being run over by a car, the most rational response may be flight or freeze. But serious drawbacks may make us think only of ourselves, leaving loved-ones exposed.
Panic doesn't help with long-term threats. A more rational response is needed to assess the risk and make a plan to act.
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Pandemic Anxiety
Excessive anxiety around this global pandemic is becoming a mental health epidemic across the world.
While a certain amount of stress is useful, it needs to be channelled to help us act in t...
Times of Uncertainty
Humans subconsciously look for self-protective assumptions when faced with uncertain situations, and different personalities have a different level of ‘optimism bias’. This bias, however, has the opposite effect when faced with a life-threatening, invisible enemy.
Those who have faced adverse situations can turn to panic buying and hoarding, with some feeling empathy towards others as well.
Talking To Children
Children think of the world as a safe, good place, as they are shielded from the worst aspects. With this new virus, we need to help them adjust, telling them to stay home as there is a strange bug outside that makes elders sick and can be spread easily to them. They also need reassurance and age-appropriate answers to help them comprehend the situation.
Example: You can tell them that kids seem to not get very sick from this, but it affects older people more
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