Official guidance advised people to practice good hygiene and wash their hands. It was also suggested that people could prepare two weeks' worth of food and water, as well as other household goods, if they felt it necessary.
令人意外的是,卫生纸销量暴增,比长保质期的食品等更受欢迎。
The demand for toilet paper surged - ahead of long-life food and other non-perishable goods.
The source of the hysteria is a few rumours circulating online, including one claiming toilet paper will no longer be available because it is made in China. Although, as The Japan Times was quick to point out, most toilet paper on sale in Japan is actually produced in Japan.
The supermarket shelf itself also sends signals. Toilet paper isbulky and, as it’s removed, the shelves look empty quickly, which triggers the perceptions of scarcity. In reality, the situation appears worse than it actually is.bulkyˈ[ˈbʌlki]:adj. 体积大的;庞大的;笨重的
"What you've got to remember is that when 50 packs of toilet paper rolls disappear off shelves, you really notice it because they take up so much room," says Prof Debra Grace from Griffith University.
"It's much more noticeable than say 50 cans of baked beans or hand sanitiser disappearing.
▌跟风抢购
新南威尔士大学消费者行为研究专家Nitika Garg称,人们抢购卫生纸还出于“害怕错过”(fear of missing out)的心理。如果你看到别人买了,就会觉得自己也应该买。
Another explanation for the phenomenon is what’s known as the FOMO — fear of missing out — syndrome, Associate Professor Nitika Garg, a consumer behavior researcher at the University of New South Wales, told the news outlet.
“They think if this person is buying it, if my neighbor is buying, there’s got to be a reason and I need to get in too,” she said.
Humans are finely attuned to monitoring what everybody else is doing (even subconsciously). Most of us use “what other people do” as a mental shortcut to decide on what the appropriate behaviour would be if we are unsure. It’s a simple decision mechanism called “social proof heuristic”, a concept popularised by psychologist Robert Cialdini.
▌社交媒体加剧恐慌
《卫报》文章还指出,发达的社交媒体放大了对厕纸短缺的恐慌,而这种恐慌比病毒传播的还快。
Social media amplifies the fear which, in some way, seems to travel faster than the virus.
卫生纸货架空空的照片,也向人们传递了“赶紧抢购”的信息。
The hashtags #toiletpapercrisis and #toiletpapergate were trending on Twitter. Seeing image after image of empty shelves sends signals to the public that this is an important issue everyone is talking about.
Toilet paper symbolises control. We use it to “tidy up” and “clean up”.
When people hear about the coronavirus, they are afraid of losing control. And toilet paper feels like a way to maintain control over hygiene and cleanliness.
I think it is the perfect product. It is completely non-perishable and one of the few products that you can stock up on that you are guaranteed to use eventually.