Is fear the real reason people won't wear masks?

Nobody likes wearing masks.  They're uncomfortable, it's difficult to talk in them and they mess up your hair.

But as of this morning, at least 2.6 million Americans have Covid-19, and 127,461 have died from it.  Perhaps more alarming is the fact that infections have increased by 80% in the past two weeks.  (2020)

Clearly everyone should be wearing masks.  So why aren't they?

We know that all decisions are emotional, so you can disregard the "rational" excuses that people are offering.  Instead we should consider what it means to wear a mask.  It means acknowledging the fact that a pandemic is raging across the globe killing people and destroying economies.

That's scary stuff. 

And putting on a mask means admitting that we have no control over this virus.  And that it might actually kill us or our loved ones.  Instead we chose denial - and skip the masks so we can pretend that we are safe. 

Sadly pretending won't help.  Wearing a mask will.  But people make bad decisions when they are under stress.

Research tells us that we need to fight fear with fear.  We need to show photos of the overrun hospitals, supply shortages and pictures of sick people.  And then maybe people will realize that it's even scarier not to wear a mask.

(2020, July 1) Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count.  nytimes.com.  retrieved July 1, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

60 is old.

I turned 60 last week and I am still trying to process it.  The average life expectancy in 2019 was 78.8 years.  Hmm.  Suddenly that doesn't seem so far away.

As if that isn't discouraging enough, the average age of Americans in 2020 is 45.  The median age is 40.  And the mode is 30. 

So clearly 60 is old, but am I?  Cue the denial.  That's what people do when they hold two conflicting points of view which they need to reconcile.  To eliminate their discomfort they discount one point or the other.

Option one is of course to accept the truth that 60 is old and so am I. 

Option two however is to deny that 60 is old since I can't possibly be old.  That's why people run around saying silly things like "60 is the new 50."  What does that even mean? 

The truth hurts.  Literally.  I used to swim two hours a day, five days a week.  Now I can only manage 45 minutes twice a week -  if I use my foam roller faithfully at night.  So I find myself thinking "If you think 60 isn't old, you must not be very active." 

Which brings me back to where I started.  60 is old.  And if you aren't thinking about your legacy instead of spouting silly denials then you need to get real.   

How do you want to be remembered?

Is Trump's success due to storytelling? Or is it tribal?

I read an interesting article yesterday about the mystery of why Trump supporters continue to ignore the truth.  Yeah I know - fake news. 

The article hypothesized that Trump is a storyteller and therefore truth is irrelevant.  It made me smile as I have often commented that my husband never lets the truth get in the way of a good story. (Bencherki & Basque, 2018)

Research tells us that storytelling is both key to memory and an extremely effective sales tool.  The seminal study on the subject, done in 2009/10, was called the "Significant Objects Project."  200 random items were bought at an average cost of $1.25 each.  Professional writers added personal stories for each - clearly false as they were not intending to deceive - and then items were sold on eBay - for nearly $8,000. 

http://significantobjects.com/about/

So yes, storytelling works, and it is likely that the mirror neurons created by Trump's storytelling, and reinforced through his tweets are creating a bond with his audience. (2017)

But the article goes on to mention that Trump is in fact offering a place in his successful/high status tribe to the disenfranchised. 

That makes more sense to me.  In previous blogs I have discussed how strong the need to belong is and have hypothesized that there is no such thing as individual thought anymore because the need to belong to the tribe is simply too overwhelming. 

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2018/03/is-there-any-individual-thought-anymore_14.html

But Trump's storytelling is the key to making them believe that they do in fact belong, so it is indeed one of the reasons why people continue to support him and believe his lies.  Denial is a powerful thing.

Bencherki, N. & Basque, J. (2018, August 7)  Why so many Americans continue to believe that Donald Trump’s lies are facts. rawstory.com  Retrieved August 8, 2018, from  https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/many-americans-continue-believe-donald-trumps-lies-facts/?comments=disqus

(2017, May 8)  The Science of Storytelling & Memory and Their Impact on CRO. conversionxl.com  Retrieved August 8, 2018, from https://conversionxl.com/blog/the-science-of-storytelling-memory-motivation-and-its-impact-on-cro/