Yes, I admit, I think of strange things while taking a shower.
In light of the panic-buying across the country (the world?) would it be possible for me to create an unprecedented demand for some random item? For example:[ul]
[li]Panty liners[/li][li]Masking tape[/li][li]Shoe polish[/li][li]caulk[/li][/ul]If I go into a store and load my cart with one item, display a worried demeanor, then make a few posts on some popular sites, can I expect my idiocy to go viral? Or would it require several accomplices? Are there enough gullible folk for this to take hold? Would it have to get the attention of the news networks to really take hold?
I’m not suggesting anyone do this - heaven forbid some marketing weenie run with this idea.
On a semi-related note, who has or know someone who has plastic sheeting and duct tape left over from a previous hysteria?
When posts poking fun at people hoarding TP started showing up I went to several stores and was greeted by full shelves in the paper goods sections. It wasn’t until a couple of days later that the shelves started emptying for real. The same thing with certain food items. My daughter called me in a panic and said she’d heard there was no food left in the stores. I needed to pick up a few things so I went partly to get them, and partly so I could take pictures of the full shelves and text them to her. The next day I needed to get something else and discovered that at the same store there were now many items that had sold out.
I have no doubt that ALL of the current hoarding was triggered by posts on social media.
Yes, but it’s more likely to work when the media uncritically amplifies the posts and the whole thing plays out against a backdrop of FUD, like a pandemic.
Have you heard of ‘flash mobs’?
It could happen if you gave info about a local store, showed an empty shelf of said item. And there was a semi-logical reason why everybody needs it.
Then it just has to be re-tweeted or posted a few times and Bob’s your uncle. No more panty liners.
Johnny Carson made one joke back in the days of gas rationing along the lines of “You know, things are getting kind of dire; I heard the other day that there’s going to be a shortage of toilet paper.” Boom. Empty shelves. One joke. So, sure, it’s doable.