By now you have likely heard of COVID-19. Your school has shifted online for the time being, or you have noticed a shortage of cold and flu related items at your local store.
While this is a rapidly changing situation, we can use this example to help us understand several sociological concepts:
Globalization
Globalization is often understood as the process through which products, people, ideas, culture, and capital, are transferred around the world creating a system of global integration. Whereas in the past some nations or societies could stand alone and be self-sufficient, today all nations and almost all people are part of an interdependent global order.
A global pandemic like COVID-19 vividly illustrates how interconnected the world has become. First identified in the Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the disease spread globally in a short period of time, largely due to travel. A statement by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020 highlights the speed of global transmission of the outbreak:
In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled.
Collective Behavior
Sociologists study how groups of people behave, known as collective behavior, which includes things from rumors and the creation of urban legends to mobs, panics, riots, protests, and movements for social change.
Often this type of behavior is unplanned and leaderless, emerging in response to a situation in real time. It can be part of a spontaneous celebration—like when the local team wins a championship—and it can also emerge from anger and rage, such as a response to a political crackdown or a negative event. It can also emerge as the result of fear.
In the case of COVID-19, we are seeing rumors and misinformation, often spread through social media and other internet sources. Google announced that it would work to reduce and remove misinformation from its search results, and links to credible sources such as WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be at the top.
It has been a difficult balancing act to warn the public to take extra precautions (like washing your hands frequently and staying home if you are sick) while not promoting panic. This hasn’t stopped people from buying masks, hand sanitizer, cold and flu remedies, and toilet paper in mass quantities out of fear. Ironically, people might not necessarily be buying these items out of fear of COVID-19, but rather because they fear not being able to buy them should they need them (especially toilet paper). Sociologists are interested in understanding how and why collective behavior emerges and what motivates people to take action.
Your Task
In an informal paper (1-2 page maximum) I would like you to put yourself into the shoes of our world leaders and address the steps and precautions you would take, once the curve flattens, to ensure that our future society will prosper so we do not repeat the past.
If you are having trouble coming up with ideas see attached the following Ted talk to get your creative juices flowing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Af6b_wyiwI