Fear of Missing Out

Sika silib mo ton telepono! As of 2019, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 144 minutes per day, up from 142 minutes in the previous year. Currently, the country with the most time spent on social media per day is the Philippines, with online users spending an average of three hours and 53 minutes on social media each day. In comparison, the daily time spent with social media in the U.S. was just two hours and three minutes. This is reported by J. Clement on February of this year via Statista.

Relationships are created and destroyed on these sites. There are even instances that the social media portals are unhealthy to those whose personalities are not founded on mature psychological roots. Envy and self-pity sprout as these persons look at the posts and adventures of their virtual friends. At the back of their minds they are saying: Why can’t I have a similar life like theirs? Not realizing that the posts can be blown out of proportion or simply projected/induced by those who post them.

The fear of missing out (FOMO) refers to the feeling or perception that others are having more fun, living better lives, or experiencing better things than you are. It involves a deep sense of envy and affects self-esteem. It is often exacerbated by social media sites like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Scott (2020) mentions that social media has accelerated the FOMO phenomenon in several ways. It provides a situation in which you are comparing your regular life to the highlights of others' lives. Therefore, your sense of "normal" becomes skewed and you seem to be doing worse than your peers. You might see detailed photos of your friends enjoying fun times without you, which is something that people may not have been so readily aware of in past generations.

Social media creates a platform for bragging; it is where things, events, and even happiness itself seems to be in competition at times. People are comparing their best, picture-perfect experiences, which may lead you to wonder what you are lacking.

That is the reason why some persons whom you do not expect to do things out of the ordinary do outrageous posts “just for fun”. Actually, they fear that they are missing out if they do not go with the flow. Some of them have to do it to feel they are in step with the present reality. There is nothing wrong about it as long as they are still in control with themselves… that the real SELF is still intact. But it is another story when these things cause anxiety or stress. These situations if undetermined and uncontrolled can lead to depression.

Some adults are wondering why a lot of kids these days are easily depressed. One of the valid reasons is that they are constantly exposed to social media sites and that they are prone to wonder why their lives are not as fabulous as their friends’. Most of them feel that they are missing out.

FOMO can be experienced by people of all ages, several studies have found. One study in the Psychiatry Research journal found that the fear of missing out was linked to a greater smartphone and social media usage and that this link was not associated with age or gender.

As technology enables us to stay more connected than ever, the addiction continues to grow. In fact, a new survey conducted by MyLife.com revealed 56% of people are afraid of missing out on events, news and important status updates if they are away from social networks.

One of the things that we need to understand as well is that there is what we call as the SILENT OBSERVERS in these platforms. They seem to be inactive in these sites but they are more prone to opening them so not to miss out. They feign nonchalance but they are more active compared to those who post shout outs, TikToks and pictures on the sites. They are following the movements of their virtual friends in an “inactive way”.

There are few articles about the ‘Silent Observers’ on Facebook according to Borkar (2015). There is power of having these quiet followers who read every post, see every content without clicking ‘Like’, ‘Comment’ or ‘Share’ no matter how engaging they might find the content. They simply judge and weigh your worth through your posts.

These silent observers are also on the verge of leading towards the unhealthy feeling and having the fear of missing out. They are part of that percentage that spend a lot of time scrolling up and down looking for information or the latest posts for the sake of observing and sometimes finding flaws and missteps. Then, they would feel good since the mistakes presented by others can soothe their own egos. They will then be assured that they are better than those they see erring on social media.

This writer considers these sites as spaces. They are like papers to be written; photo albums to be pasted with pictures and even a blank canvass to be painted. The “likes” and “dislikes” are not that important aside from the affirmation from friends and relatives. There are around 300 journals with a myriad of contents kept in a drawer. Nobody reads them. The contents are made for self-consumption and not for others' scrutiny or jealousy. Most of them are outputs of the processes created out from multiple inputs gained.

Social media fosters CONNECTION. Other than that can be another psychological discourse. Positive inputs, processing and outputs can be made. A balance of CONSUMPTION and CREATION can be done here. Anxiety, depression and envy caused by the fear of missing out must be avoided. One can even disconnect themselves from these sites. It won't kill you!

In the end, our mental health is our sole responsibility.

Let Them Lead

Pasagdi sila magtrabaho nan ila, pagtabaho nan imo! It has come to the attention of many that a lot of unsolicited comments and opinions are sprouting in the social media sites on how leaders must act and what should they do. There were some who wonder who these personalities are and what gave them the confidence to air their seemingly righteous words. Are they schooled in leadership? Most of them are making the freedom of speech and expression as their crutch. But are these freedoms absolute?

Becoming a leader is neither simple nor straightforward. Leaders fully realize that leadership is a complex, multifaceted capability, with myriad nuances and subtleties and that the characteristics that can help a person succeed in one environment may lead to failure in another situation.

Harvard Business professors Sorcher and Brant (2002) said that to assess a candidate properly, people must consider the full range of leadership criteria, including the various “soft” skills and characteristics, such as personal integrity, that are difficult to judge.

But people are not the same in terms of judgment. During elections, it’s either they depend on their emotions or their votes are bought. Selfish motivations can be gleaned. Political analysts are even divided on the way our elections turn out. But then we accept the concept of Vox Populi, Vox Dei (Latin, the voice of the people is the voice of God).

So these leaders are chosen. We can simply accept them as the anointed individuals or the lucky ones. It is either we have to accept them or live with them. The ranting that some of them are not the RIGHT ones is an exercise in futility!

The real question now is: Are you a good follower? Or, do you go above and beyond?

Followers do their jobs, and that’s it. No matter how good they may be at those jobs, it rarely occurs to them to go beyond their basic functions. Leaders, on the other hand, see their job descriptions as the bare minimum—the foundation upon which they build greatness. Leaders see their real role as adding value, and they add it whenever and wherever they see an opportunity (Bradberry, 2015).

There were times when this writer was offered positions to lead in a macro scheme. But due to the practiced introspection, this realization came: The person can work well with micro-leadership since outcomes are tangible and innovations can be created and controlled. Contrary to handling people in a macro way, those things are difficult to attain. The leadership will fall on delegation and generic outcomes. So, the decision to be a leader in a micro-scale was chosen. In reality, it takes a lot theoretical learning and practical actions to master the art of leading.

The question now is: theory or practice? Klabnik (2012) posits, these two separate realms are connected through a process of abstraction and application. To explain this relationship by way of theory, Theory deterritorializes Practice, and Practice reterritorializes Theory: a Theory which is a becoming-Practice and a Practice which is a becoming-Theory. To explain this relationship by way of practice, Theory is abstracted Practice, and Practice is applied Theory.

There are people who believe that leadership is an innate skill and based on experience. But wherever you may position this idea, formal (or any) education really counts. The theories, ideas and concepts build a strong foundation in the way leaders think and form decisions.

So, we go back to main point: Why do a lot of people pose as good leaders by giving unsolicited opinions and even insinuating solutions to problems brought about by this pandemic? Is it because of this platform (the social media sites) where anybody can become somebody? Is it because of misunderstood democracy? Or has leadership become what George Orwell envisions in his dystopian novel titled 1984 where everything is under the surveillance of Big Brother?

Why can’t we just be followers? Becoming a follower is the ability to be led. Yes, there is an art to this; it’s a craft. While a leader’s role is to set vision and define objectives, a follower’s role is to fulfill those defined objectives. Followers execute. Deliver. Fulfill. Perform. Do. They’re honest, dependable, competent, and assertive.

In his book The Art of Command, Jeffery J. Matthews points out that in most organizations, leaders already inherently play the part of follower. Being effective at followership contributes to successful leadership. There is a feedback loop of success when we seek opportunities to both lead and follow. As we hone our followership skills, we become better leaders. As leadership opportunities increase, we become better followers.

Yes, we will become better leaders when we understand how to respect and be good followers. By the time we will be chosen, designated, appointed, elected or anointed to become one, we can utilize all the studied theories and apply the learned concepts through calculated actions.

Meanwhile, why not do tangible outputs within our areas of control?

Apathy

Mag-uno man sab ako? These words can have a deep impact for those whose interests are limited. There are even those who will feel annoyed and become moody once boredom hits to the core. That is the reason why people must be exposed to productive interests or hobbies when they are still young or even older.

What is an interest? Zavi (2019) said: An interest is a subjective attitude motivating a person to perform a certain task. It affords pleasure and satisfaction. It results in curiosity towards the object of interest, enthusiasm to be attached to the object, strength of will to face difficulties while engaged in the task of one’s interest, a definite change in behavior in the presence of the object characterized by attention and concentration.

At an early age, parents must expose the little kids to different experiences and activities so that they will see the inclinations of the child. That is the time when they nurture such interests to become part of the young person’s growth. This can be helpful when the child grows. He/she will be absorbed into something which is meaningful rather than feel bored and feel frustrated on certain situations.

The potential for interest lies within the person, but the content and environment influence the strength and direction of interest as well as its continued development (Hidi and Renninger, 2006; Renninger and Hidi, 2011). The fact that interest is influenced by both content and the context of the situation suggests that interventions have the potential to both trigger interest and promote the maintenance of interest.

Observe on how adults behave during this time of quarantine. There are those who cannot bear the thought of staying at home. You see, there are NO meaningful activities for them inside. But there are those people who are getting by. A few are slumped in a corner reading. There are some who are viewing documentaries. Some are doing crafts and sewing. Baking and cooking became a haven for some. And most interestingly are those who are LEARNING online or using other platforms to acquire something which can be of use once the quarantine will end.

The aforementioned activities are difficult to appreciate once the individual does not find meaning in them.

Some researchers believe that interest cannot be created: you are either interested in x or you aren’t. This belief seems to be motivated by research showing that interests are often stable over time; if you are (not) interested in something today, it is unlikely that your interest level in the thing will be different next year. Other researchers have suggested that interest actually can be created where they didn’t exist before (Hidi, Renninger, 2006).

That is the point when we can utilize the time of quarantine by developing our own interests and guiding the young ones into finding theirs. Since interest can be developed, we can start something new today!

The emergence of enduring interests is an example of motivational development. Three broad kinds of theories are identified. One group of theories proposes that interests come from a source of intrinsic motivation, such as a curiosity instinct (William McDougall) or feelings of curiosity and interest (Silvan Tomkins, Manfred Prenzel). A second group of theories proposes that interests come from extrinsic motivational sources. Examples include John Dewey's model of intrinsic and extrinsic interest, and Gordon Allport's functional autonomy principle. A third group of theories proposes that interests are offshoots of deeper motives and needs, such as psychodynamic drives (Sigmund Freud), unfulfilled needs (Anne Roe), or physiological drives (Clark Hull). The chapter considers some abstract similarities and differences between these diverse theories.

These theoretical backbones for interest allow us to understand the importance of doing productive things during these times when we have lots of time. By doing so, we will be able to be developmentally upright rather than be on the verge of depression and anxiety.

Positive motivation is seen when people engage in an activity that has a virtuous end, such as volunteering, athletics, or art. Negative motivation is evident when individuals act in a manner that is unethical or has a destructive end, such as judging others, physical altercations or vandalism (Schinnerer, 2018).

That is the reason why we need to monitor our actions and even thoughts at this time of quarantine. Are we doing things with a negative outcome or are building strong foundations of positive outputs?

If we are looking for the best results in our idle times, we will focus more on positive, internal motivation for ourselves as well as others.

We need to be interested on our INTERESTS.

The Enemy

Uman jaon baja frontline? One of the words you always overhear is the word front-liner. This can sometimes be confused by others as anybody who “volunteers” to do something which is purely falling on the act of volunteering.

According to the Merriam-Webster, a frontline is a military line formed by the most advanced tactical combat units. It is also an area of potential or actual conflict or struggle. In a battle, the best combatants are placed on the frontlines so for an area not to be invaded. These people are not just anybody who can stand like a prop but people who are equipped with knowledge, skills and the right behavior to defeat the enemy.

Who is the enemy? This idea is constantly applied by good managers through the concepts presented by Sun Tzu in his book “The Art of War”. The book suggests that if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

Basically, our enemy here is the virus threatening the lives of many once it spreads. People, out of their profession and expertise, are placed on the frontlines to combat the spread and save the lives of the infected. The medical practitioners are placed on the hospitals so for them to contain the virus and heal those who are sick.

Anybody can be a carrier of the virus. So, the people are being ordered to stay at their homes and practice social distancing. ANOTHER TYPE OF ENEMY HAS EMERGED: the people themselves. The policemen and other local officials started to become the front-liners to combat the indifference and undisciplined actions of the people. They are not following orders and continue to go on with their lives.

Yet, there are those whose reasons are valid for them to survive – they are hungry.

Since the community quarantine prohibits people to go out, there are establishments which closed and the “No Work No Pay” people started getting uneasy. They have to go out and look for a living. The government has ordered the local governments and the concerned departments to give ration and amelioration amount for the poor and the middle class to get by. The local officials, social workers and people from the labor department started to become the front-liners of the enemy called HUNGER. The private sector is also helping them kill the enemy by having fund-raising campaigns to help those who are in need.

The store owners, the market vendors and even the drivers of the delivery trucks of food so with the store personnel started to become the suppressors of the HUNGER enemy. These include the farmers and the fisher folks and those who cook food and deliver them in our doorsteps.

The people in check points are also doing their best NOT to allow the enemy to enter our places and eradicate the majority whose dreams, aspirations and hope must continue to thrive.

Leaders and all of us must understand how to defeat the enemy. A deeper understanding of WHAT and WHO is the enemy must be considered. Sometimes, we might become the enemy ourselves if our psychological deficits and unmet needs surface. If we will become the persons to create chaos than pacifying things, we must be restrained than thrive like the virus.

Strategic identification of the frontlines must also be considered. Why is it that food overflows on hospitals and checkpoints when there are areas infested with hunger? While the virus is held outside, our medical team the police, and other officials are doing their regular duties, right? We do not discount their courage to be there but there are others who are experiencing lack of food on the margins.

The private individuals volunteering to gather resources must also understand the strategic delivery of them to restrain the CORRECT enemy.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. Chang Yu said: "Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive." He adds: "Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack."

Yes, it is high time to know if we have become the combatants, the front-liners of this pandemic or we have become the enemy.

We are the Poor

Mag-uno man sila sa suyod? We still can see in the news feeds and even in our own town a number of people roaming around and doing their activities outside their houses even with the strong warnings of the local and national governments to stay at home. In fact, going out is considered as the majority’s contribution in spreading the virus.

There are reports that the poorest of the poor are the ones to break the protocol especially in social distancing and home quarantine. There are even posts in the social media sites condemning them as the culprits of the local transmissions. But haven’t we looked in their situations? What would they do inside a dilapidated house with walls made of light materials and no plumbing?

Report of the Philippine Statistics Authority states that the full year 2018 poverty incidence among population, or the proportion of poor Filipinos whose per capita income is not sufficient to meet their basic food and non-food needs, was estimated at 16.6 percent. This translates to 17.6 million Filipinos who lived below the poverty threshold estimated at PhP 10,727, on average, for a family of five per month in 2018.

In its Macro Poverty Outlook for East Asia and the Pacific report, the World Bank projected poverty incidence in the Philippines at 20.8 percent by the end of 2019, down from 26 percent in 2015, the latest comparable full-year date from the Philippine government.

Based on the results of the 2008 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey, 36 percent of families in the bottom 30% income stratum do not have electricity in their homes compared to 8 percent among families in the upper 70% income stratum. Eighty four percent of the total families have access to a safe source of water supply. Considered as clean and safe sources of water supply are community water system and protected well. The remaining 16 percent of families obtain their water from sources considered unsafe, such as unprotected well (5%), developed spring (4%), undeveloped spring (2%), river, stream, pond, lake or dam (1%), rainwater (less than one percent), and tanker truck or peddler (3%).

These are purely statistics. But these numbers have faces, needs and feelings. We can see them on the news trying to buy food in a congested marketplace; we can observe them on their front yards drinking the hours away since they do not have anything to do inside the small space they call a house; and we can hear them singing through the karaoke since that’s the only thing they know on how to cope. We see them apprehended on checkpoints since they are trying to look for food for the family.

Decades of research have already documented that people who deal with stressors such as low family income, discrimination, limited access to health care, exposure to crime are highly susceptible to physical and mental disorders, low educational attainment, and low IQ scores, noted Farah (2015), a University of Pennsylvania professor.

A major implication of the cognitive neuroscience research on development, Farah said, is that it challenges the widely held notion that the poor have only themselves to blame for their circumstances.

Surveys have shown that a very common view about why poor people are poor is that they don’t try hard enough, they’re irresponsible, they make poor decisions, they don’t stay in school, et cetera. But … neurons don’t deserve blame or credit. They don’t expend effort. They don’t have good or bad behaviors. They just behave according to the laws of the natural world.

Certain nutrients have greater effects on brain development than do others. These include protein, energy, certain fats, iron, zinc, copper, iodine, selenium, vitamin A, choline, and folate. Circuit-specific behavioral and neuro-imaging tests are being developed for use in progressively younger infants to more accurately assess the effect of nutrient deficits both while the subject is deficient and after recovery from the deficiency (Georgieff, 2007). Most of these nutrients are absent in a poor man’s diet.

Therefore, the chemical component of the brains was underdeveloped due to the situations and environment the poor has been exposed to.

Yet, the well-off and the middle class would insist: What about common sense? Does it need a lot of well-developed neurons to function and follow simple rules?

Hunger increases your impulsiveness and reduces your ability to make long-term decisions. This is why you shouldn’t shop on an empty stomach. A complex web of signals throughout the brain and body drives how and when we feel hungry. And even the question of why we feel hungry is not always simple to answer. The drive to eat comes not only from the body's need for energy, but also due to self-preservation. We have to eat so to survive.

In this present situation where the pandemic continues to claim lives, the LEARNED individuals must work hand in hand with those who are trying to live. The culture of blame is another intellectual deficit. That is the reason why HELP from the neighbors can be considered as one of the solutions for people to get by. Indifference and personal comparisons are silent killers.

Of Interests and Needs

                              (image: interestinengineering.com)

Nag-uno kaw kuman? Psychologists believe that during times of uncertainty and empty hours, a person’s interest surfaces. The stuff that you are repeatedly doing during this lockdown is a representation of your needs, interests and coping mechanisms.

For many of us according to Abigail Brenner, M.D., aloneness is a negative state of being. Society doesn’t help us with this notion either; being alone often carries a social stigma, implying isolation, being on the outside. This perceived sense of aloneness seems to imply that being by one’s self is not volitional, or a choice we make, but rather an imposed state where a person is not socially engaged in the way that is somehow expected.

That is the reason why we try to cope. Coping refers to the human behavioral process for dealing with demands, both internal and external, in situations that are perceived as threats.

Anxiety comes in. This sometimes is related by others as boredom but it is actually not. It is rooted in fear. At the back of a person’s mind is the fear that s/he cannot do the things planned or stuff s/he is used to.

While some of us respond to anxiety by launching into “doing something” mode, others have the opposite reaction. For folks in this group, concentration becomes exceedingly difficult, mental and physical exhaustion creep in and productivity slows to a crawl. While this is a normal manifestation of nervousness, low productivity can affect every part of your day—including your work—causing even more anxiety.

Erika Boissiere (2020) says that to combat this, reserve a time of day for addressing your most vital to-dos. Make a list and circle your three most important tasks. This list is a contract with yourself—your top three get priority, take care of those immediately. If you get to the other stuff, that’s great, but don’t sweat it. Maybe most importantly, if you’re not getting as much accomplished as usual, forgive yourself: we’re in the middle of a pandemic and the word productive has taken on a new meaning.

There are also those who say “bahala na, que sera sera”.

The term bahala na, which can be translated to whatever happens, happens, is one of the more familiar phrases used in the country and is perhaps the most representative of how Filipinos value adaptability and quick thinking. It exemplifies one’s belief in a higher power and submitting one’s fate to elements that cannot be controlled. People who use the term bahala na do not see anything wrong with it, as it serves as a sort of positive affirmation that allows them to deal with a problem right then and there. However, those who do see it negatively often view it as a form of fatalistic submission or a way to absolve one from the responsibility of their actions (outsourceaccelerator.com, 2020).

And there are people whose unmet needs surface. Human needs theorists argue that one of the primary causes of protracted or intractable conflict is people's unyielding drive to meet their unmet needs on the individual, group, and societal level.

Needs, unlike interests, cannot be traded, suppressed, or bargained for. Thus, the human needs approach makes a case for turning away from traditional negotiation models that do not take into account nonnegotiable issues (Marker, 2003).

That is the reason why the NEED TO BE RECOGNIZED occurs in such trying times. Although this cannot be considered as negative especially if the actions addressing such need are helpful. Yet, there are those who dwell on the negative just to attain this need.

Most scholars and practitioners agree that issues of identity, security, and recognition, are critical in many or even most intractable conflicts. They may not be the only issue, but they are one of the important issues that must be dealt with if an intractable conflict is to be transformed. Ignoring the underlying needs and just negotiating the interests may at times lead to a short-term settlement, but it rarely will lead to long-term resolution. Yet, the main responsibility of looking into these needs must be the individuals themselves.

Since the Enhanced Community Quarantine has been extended, we have ample time to look into our interests, coping mechanisms and even our needs through a reflective manner.

We need a time of reckoning with our past and of putting down our life-long posture of social distancing. We should have time when we are less focused on who the government is or isn’t helping, and asking ourselves whether we truly know the names beneath the issues we discuss over dinner. We need a journey of collective repentance for our individualism, our elitism, and our white and western supremacy (Reeve, 2020).

And as a renewed individual, we can link to the society and rise again as better people.

Stubborn or...

                                    (photo: Primer.com)

Di kibali makasabot? Simple instruction, you cannot follow? This is what people are asking right now as others continue to go out, ride in tandem and do their usual activities outside their houses despite the millions of pleas and requests by the authorities to STAY AT HOME. Some are drinking with their friends; others are spending their time in their backyards having cockfights.

Basically, following directions is a learned skill. The mastery of it might NOT be on the independent level as what teachers observe in language subjects.

Following oral directives, interpreting the needed steps to complete tasks, understanding critical-thinking questions, and discerning written instructions are just a few instances of how people need to know how to navigate the subtleties embedded within a language. For many, learning to follow directions is a complex task that requires explicit instruction, and the mastery of this skill involves vocabulary development, mental flexibility, and attention to details, listening skills, receptive language skills, verbal reasoning, and expressive language skills (Warren, 2011).

But are the words STAY AT HOME difficult to follow?

When persons have trouble following directions, they often encounter the annoyance and frustration of others. In fact, a true misunderstanding can even result in ridicule and sanctions.

Despite dire warnings about the exponential growth of COVID-19 cases we can expect in lieu of stringent social distancing efforts, reports continue to come out of people carrying on with life as usual — lazing outside and having gatherings.

Social psychologist Vanessa K. Bohns (2020) mentions that the vast majority of the people who are defying calls for social distancing are not doing so because they don’t care about other people. Rather, they are doing so because they don’t realize the influence their actions will have on others. They are trapped in their own heads, looking out at what is going on in the world around them, and failing to recognize their own role in it. She underscores EGOCENTRIC deeds as the main culprit.

Baruch Fischhoff, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who studies human judgment and decision making, had a handful of potential answers. First: “There are very few reported cases in most places, so maybe people [think], ‘This is still not here yet,’” he said. “If you haven’t been following the fact that we haven’t been testing [very much], you might not realize how deceiving the reported cases are.” He mentioned research suggesting that the human brain is well adapted to recording how often specific numbers are reported, but not as well adapted to understanding when those numbers might not be representative of reality.

Now that the supposedly COVID-19-free Caraga Region has reported its first case, a certain hush is in the local atmosphere. People might follow the features of an Enhanced Community Quarantine.

But is it really the main reason or something else?

Most of those who are outside are looking for a living. There are people who can be hungry if they do not go out and work. Although the government is doing a lot of measures to support the poor, it is incapable of doing a swift job due to prior weak processes like profiling. Also, the different departments assigned for the task are either understaffed or unskilled to dole out the needed amount to augment the daily needs of those who do not have stable jobs.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he's inclined to extend a lockdown of more than half the country's population on its main island until April 30, 2020 to further stem the corona virus outbreak. Mr Duterte, in an address late on Monday (April 6, 2020), also said he's considering tweaking this year's 4.1 trillion peso (S$115.90 billion) budget to allocate more funds to virus response, as some 200 billion pesos set aside for cash grants to poor families won't be enough (straitstimes.com). The other regions can follow suit.

The president repeatedly mentioned the request to STAY AT HOME!

Social distancing is the only way to slow the spread of this disease, and that means we’re all made responsible. “If we don’t change our behavior now, the disease will spread faster and our healthcare system will be overwhelmed.” Leana Wen (2020) warns that, as a result, “that would cause a lot more harm and a lot more deaths.”

Consequently, very few people think they need to follow directions.  But, in fact, following orders effectively is something that very few of us do.  It's not because it is so difficult.  Most of us have just never developed the habits that would make us effective followers.

True learning experiences should somehow change the individual—and these experiences cropping-up every day are springboards of people to follow orders from the authorities.

Leaders must also consider these facts so that effective movements and equitable services will be delivered in abnormal situations like a pandemic.

Statistics in Leadership

Magkabiro man sab ta! In this time of a pandemic, we feign a sense of calm. But at the back of our minds are confusing things. We even worry about our well-being and our loved ones. With the increasing number of infected persons, others cannot just sit and do nothing. They do individual things to be of help. Others question the authorities (which, based on a previous discourse, is a normal thing to crop up in crisis situations).

The vulnerable sectors of this crisis usually have mechanisms to do so to maintain equilibrium. Individuals, managers, families and even political leaders must understand the profile of those who are enveloped with worry as the infection escalates.

First is the elderly who is the main concern of COVID-19.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the world’s population is ageing rapidly. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's older adults is estimated to almost double from about 12% to 22%. Over 20% of adults aged 50 and 60 and above suffer from a mental or neurological disorder. The most common mental and neurological disorders in this age group are dementia and depression, which affect approximately 5% and 7% of the world’s older population, respectively. Anxiety disorders affect 3.8% of the older population.

The term "anxiety disorder" refers to specific psychiatric disorders that involve extreme fear or worry, and includes generalized anxiety disorder (GAD),  panic disorder and panic attacks, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, selective mutism, separation anxiety, and specific phobias (adaa.org).

For the vast majority of individuals, these are normal emotional responses that can enhance protective behaviors in the face of a threat (e.g., being more alert to danger, seeking support, limiting activities) and will not turn into long-term mental worries.  Most of the people belonging to 50 and above “do” something so to have coping mechanisms. Some of them are trying to take part in the involvement on the political scene. This is actually their “healthy” option during an unhealthy situation.

Then, we have the women.

In the Philippine culture, we look up at our mothers as the persons who nurture well-being among family members. Naturally, the women are the ones to air their opinions which sometimes mutate to ranting and eventually lead to online conflicts due to their own anxiety. According Jenn Chen (2020), Facebook users are 75% of women and 63% are men. That is the main reason why we encounter women ranting on this site.

There is also a consideration of the age bracket that is using social media sites. Chen continued to venture on the use of Facebook according to age. The breakdown of demographics by age includes: 13–17 years old (51%), 18–24 years old (76%), 25–30 years old (84%), 30-49 years old (79%), 50-64 years old (68%), and 65+ years old (46%). It is in the age profile when we can see the active opinions triggered by a stimulus (the virus), their ways to cope and even their sense of dread.

While many people might say keeping political debate off Facebook is a matter of tact, Hampton (2016) said there is a concern that a person’s fear of offending someone on social media stifles debate. Yet, those who have strong opinions and are doing what we call as having “coping mechanisms” might as well consider the platform for serious debate.

Distance from home can also be considered. There people living abroad and out of town. You can sense that they are also “present” on online discussions. We all need to be recognized, according to exploringyourmind.com. It’s not a matter of pride, selfishness, or immaturity. Human beings, from the earliest moments in their lives, absolutely need respect and affection from everyone around them, which is where we implicitly find that sincere recognition towards us as people. However, respect must not be eradicated from the picture if you just want to be heard and recognized.

Also, these persons might be doing their own way to cope since they are worried about their families in their hometown.

What about educational attainment? Is it correlated to the degree of the opinions posted online? The explanations that underpin this will vary depending on the topic in question, but will include factors such as the effects of enhanced cognitive and general academic skills, learned capacity to empathize with other people’s viewpoints, exposure to liberal values and mixing with a wider variety of groups than might otherwise have been the case (see for example, Feinstein, 2002; Evans, 2002). Factors such as these may help to explain the fact that, for example, graduates are more likely than non-graduates to feel that they understand the political system (Lee and Young, 2013). Finally, higher education is likely also to have an indirect impact upon attitudes, as it will affect other factors that may well shape people’s views.

These implications, however, do not sanitize the negative impact or outcome of personal hurt to the people in question. Considerations on genetics, family orientation, level of meta-cognition, empathy and the values to attain the greater good is yet to be studied.

In sum, the demographic profiles of people in the family and an area as to age, sex, distance from home, economic status and educational background must be considered by the families and political leaders to attain implications which will lead them to scientific recommendations out from the threat given by the stimulus (the virus).

Meanwhile, as our medical team finds a cure, we cling to the universal value of respect.

Leadership and Blame

                                       (img: steemit.com)

Motunga an kalabad! In stressful situations, people’s real intentions and motivations will crop up. Performance under stress can show how quick witted or level headed a person is, or on the contrary, it can show where their weaknesses lie.

Human behavior during any crisis may be much different than we might expect. Contrary to popular belief, most people are quite resilient. They seldom respond completely irrationally during crises. We’ve all seen the headlines about people panicking or becoming hysterical during emergencies, but the reality is that individuals experience both productive and unproductive responses to crises (Badzmierowski, 2011).

A far more common reaction is for affected individuals to first attempt to ensure their own safety and welfare. Many will then make every effort to help others. This behavior has been well-documented in high-profile emergencies worldwide.

This is being observed by many of us among people at this time. After ensuring that they are safe with their families, the need to extend to others will surface. That is why we see people donating money, food and even spending time productively by sewing alternative masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE’s).

But why do we hear about blaming and finger pointing in the local, national and international level? Out of fear and anxiety, people tend to shield themselves with defense mechanisms so to be “strong”.

A well-known categorization of defense mechanisms by George Vaillant in 1994 differentiated between immature defense mechanisms, such as projection (blaming others) and denial, and mature defenses, like humor and sublimation (turning your unconscious motives into productive activity). Other models building on Vaillant have similarly attempted to categorize defense mechanisms along a continuum from unhealthy to healthy.

Scapegoating, on the other hand, serves as an opportunity to explain failure or misdeeds, while maintaining one’s positive self-image. If a person who is poor or doesn’t get a job that he or she applies for can blame an unfair system or the people who did get the job that he or she wanted, the person may be using the others as a scapegoat and may end up hating them as a result (Glick, 2002).

These things, if not well-thought through formal education or simply self-reflection will always surface on stressful situations. And since not all people are capable of reaching meta-cognitive levels, we can just accept these outbursts as part of human nature.

Scholars and practitioners increasingly accept the idea that leadership is the ability to influence and facilitate others towards common goals, not merely a function of holding an official position.

Crisis management research has largely ignored one of the most pressing challenges political leaders are confronted with in the wake of a large-scale extreme event: how to cope with what is commonly called the blame game.

Effective crisis leadership entails recognizing emerging threats, initiating efforts to mitigate them and deal with their consequences, and, once an acute crisis period has passed, re-establishing a sense of normalcy. These are no easy tasks in a time of new threats and increasingly vulnerable societies.

To underscore the point that BLAME GAME is not unique in crisis management, this writer reviewed literature on the subject.  Some analysts have explored the causes and drivers of blame games and blame management (Weaver 1986; Ellis 1994; Hood 2002; Hearit 2006; Hood et al. 2009). Others have detailed how crisis-induced political blame games generally unfold (McGraw 1990, 1991; Br¨andstr¨om and Kuipers 2003). Our particular interest is whether the leadership styles of political leaders can help explain the dynamics and outcome of these crisis-induced blame games (Parker and Dekker 2008; Hood et al. 2009).

One salient point was recommended and that is to focus on THE CRISIS and let the people who think that they are “doing something” do their thing. The blames might be a roadblock towards the tasks at hand…

However, they also face pressures to criticize and reform these same arrangements (Boin and ‘t Hart 2003). They must navigate a difficult pathway between an open, reflective, responsibility-accepting stance that encourages policy-oriented learning but may leave them politically vulnerable, and a defensive, responsibility-denying stance that may deflect blame at the price of undermining learning and eroding a leader’s long-term legitimacy.

The complaints and the blaming are CONSTANTS in the equation of crisis management. The challenge now is not them but how to eradicate the difficult variable (which is the virus) in the equation.