Fear of the less-understood coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) is making us ‘bobo’ consumers.
Hoarding sanitizers, face masks and other emergency related items has been a trending topic in social media platforms. Grocery stores were emptied leaving the people at risk nothing to use.
They call it panic buying.
Would you rather go to the grocery store and purchase all you can take home or go online shopping and bargain for a disinfectant alcohol at 750 per bottle?
I can’t blame us all.
We are the social media capital of the world. We’re online more than 10 hours a day. We no longer read the papers nor watch the morning and evening news. All information is made available in just a click. And not all we see must be believed, that’s common sense.
But this sense of the common is polluting the internet world.
We’re overfed on ‘lockdown’, ‘quarantine’, ‘breaking news’ and ‘just in’ social media feeds. This is creating an empire of less-prepared, less knowledgeable and less-considerate ‘bobo buyers’.
And the move must begin in you.
Recently, Pampanga Governor Delta Pineda has ordered the arrest of ‘fake news peddlers’ or those who unmindfully share unverified reports, posts, stories and data online.
The Department of Health has reminded the public that handwashing is more effective than using face masks and sanitizers.
The Department of Trade and Industry has released the price guidelines on certain emergency related commodities.
The Department of Interior and Local Government tasked the local officials to be the front liners in spreading information on the prevention of this viral respiratory disease.
President Rodrigo Duterte announced that National Capital Region will be on community quarantine from March 15 to April 12 of this year.
COVID-2019 is now a global pandemic. Its severity is alarming. But first, stop being a ‘bobo buyer’.