By the time a storm hits campus, most students have been riding a wave of anxiety for days.
This is no different when it came to the round of wintery weather and ice that was received this past weekend. Notifications from the weather app buzz nonstop. While headlines carry the words “life threatening” and “catastrophic”. Even though it is essential to stay aware about worsening weather conditions, it is even more essential to not fall into the trap of fear mongering.
Fear mongering occurs when information is presented in an exaggerated manner that prioritizes shock over truth. In storm coverage, this often appears as dramatic language, deceiving images, and constant updates that blur the lines between preparation and panic.
On Jan. 21, popular meteorologist Max Velocity posted a Tiktok video.
“This is a scenario that almost always leads to widespread power outages and long-lasting infrastructure damage,” he said. “This is going to be a very chaotic winter storm.”
While this information may not seem like outright fear mongering, it is important to note his ominous tone of voice and his request that people follow his account at the end of the video. During his dialogue, he presented photos and videos of past snow storms and their graphic effects while using intense wording to describe the upcoming events.
Fear mongering may be subtle, but little details like those used by Velocity, contribute to a culture of panic concerning weather events.
Fear mongering concerning weather can also be seen in the form of conspiracy theories.
Many believe in the theory that the government is controlling the weather.
“It seems like a setup. Are they forcing the storm upon us?” Tiktoker “Renda” stated.
This statement, accompanied by eerie music and a plethora of terrified users in the comments, creates the perfect atmosphere for fear mongering.
The effects of successful fear mongering can be seen in the grocery stores after individuals buy-in-bulk during their time of panic.
Not only are the effects seen in physical places, but also, in the general desensitization of the public after these forecasts fail to materialize. Once a person has bought into the fear mongering a number of times, they even become skeptical of information that may be true. This is why fear mongering can be so dangerous.
A study by Hannah R. Stevens from the university of California, Davis supports the above claim.
The study, which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, was purposed to examine anxiety rates in news articles with corresponding user tweets containing words like COVID, pandemic, and coronavirus.
The findings of the study show that people became desensitized to the COVID-19 threat over time as their emotional responses were blunted by media exaggeration.
Much like the COVID-19 pandemic, these weather events carry an emotional toll and sometimes devastating consequences. These events being told valuing shock over truth results in individuals becoming unfazed overtime, even when more concern need be shown.
“I thought it was gonna be so much worse because of everything that I was seeing on social media,” said Owen Stone, sophomore. “We even bought extra groceries that we really didn’t really have to use.”
By staying updated with campus alerts that give straightforward information regarding shelter, class updates, and travel advisories, people can remain confident that they are receiving information that will only help them in responding rationally, without manipulating what is actually taking place.
With news of more wintery weather moving in throughout the coming weeks, it is important to stay aware of what is reality, and what is fear mongering.
