Preppers 2.0: Readinesses Revamp in the Age of COVID-19
Survivalist and Doomsday preppers have long been a subject of fascination in popular culture.
From fictional characters in monster movies such as Tremors, to real-life examples in National Geographic's Doomsday Preppers, those who live this extreme lifestyle continue to fascinate us. In Design Thinking, we often turn to extreme users to better understand the fringes of behavior and interpretation. And through this lens, preppers are the extreme users of the moment.
Preppers have often been viewed as an amusing fringe population, over-prepared for a crisis that never occurs. But how does that view change when the crisis does occur? In light of the current Covid-19 epidemic, that's a question that more and more people are asking.
Have the Doomsday preppers of the world had it right all along? Are there aspects of the survivalist life that we should adopt? Are there others that we should avoid? Let's take a closer look.
Posh Prepping and Bug Out Bags
Even before Covid-19 struck, the world of disaster preparedness was getting a makeover. The idea of becoming more self-sufficient and having the tools to survive a crisis has extended to people of all types and diverse backgrounds. Businesses have already begun to remove the mystery from readiness planning by producing pre-stocked survival kits. These kits - or 'Bug out Bags' as they're known by among preppers - are bags stocked with any essentials you might need during the short term. Some companies have capitalized on this new trend in prepping - as well as their customer's love of convenience -by offering wildly expensive 'luxury' BOBs, such as the Los Angeles-based 'Preppi' bag, which will run you about the same as a used car.
Luckily, the majority of these companies simply want to make disaster survival more straightforward and accessible to the common person. As the preparedness company JUDY states on their website, as many as 50% of families are unprepared for disaster. JUDY seeks to lower this number by giving families access to pre-planned emergency supplies. Having some level of preparedness isn't only good for giving families peace of mind; it also helps ease the load on government systems when responding to disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes.
These kits, however, are geared mainly for short-term survival, and can only carry around 72 hours' worth of supplies. For more long-term survival plans, you'll need to dive a little deeper into the world of prepping.
The Survivalist Mindset
While there are many levels to prepping, there is a common thread that can be found among all, and that is the survivalist mindset.
Those who want to become more prepared in their own lives are faced with the stereotype that has become so popular in the media. That is, the stereotype of the paranoid prepper, too intense and a little unhinged, who trusts no one and is always looking over his shoulder waiting for the bomb to drop. However this description doesn't fit all - or even most - of the real preppers in the world.
Many people interested in prepping today aren't driven by a conspiracy theory or government suspicion, but by what is now a very concrete concern; how to survive in a crisis. The conversation has moved from the what could be to the what is - and something can be learned from those who have already prepared for times like these.
Preparing for the worst doesn't mean living in a constant state of panic. In fact, many preppers work hard to cultivate the opposite. Learning how to keep calm and focused during times of crisis is as important as having the necessary supplies. The prepper community concerns itself with mental preparedness as much as it does with the physical aspects of survival. Stockpiling supplies will only do you so much good in a real crisis; the true test of survival lies in your resilience, your attitude, and how you conduct yourself in dangerous situations.
The survivalist mindset boils down to this: preparing for what you can, while also recognizing that you can't prepare for everything. For those things you can't prepare for, you'll need to rely on your own skills and ability to function in less-than-ideal circumstances.
The Future of Disaster Planning
As you look around at your situation now, you may be asking yourself: 'How could I have been better prepared?'
This isn't just a valid question to ask, but a good one. As we move forward through these confusing times, we should take note of what we can do to that will help us handle similar circumstances in the future.
As more and more people embrace disaster planning, the face of prepping is beginning to change. One of the shifts in focus has been from the survival of the individual, to the survival of the community. The production of pre-stocked emergency materials makes it easier to equip everyone for crisis, especially the elderly, or people who would be less inclined to prep.
The idea of preparedness has expanded as time has gone on. In the past, the main question on a prepper's mind would be, 'Do I have enough stuff?' Alongside this question, the modern survivalist is more inclined to ask, 'Do I have the right mindset for what's ahead?' as well as, 'What are the needs of my community, and how can I help meet them?'. Rather than hoarding weapons to protect one's own store of supplies, modern prepping leans more towards teamwork and innovation, such as skill sharing and community gardening.
It can be easy to get too comfortable in our modern lives and forget to think ahead, or to assume that what we need will always be available. However, our current situation has proven that this isn't the case. While we can't prepare for every possible outcome, learning and growing from these events will help us all to become stronger for the future.
As we move forward together, the prepping community will continue to evolve. Some things, however, will remain the same. Mental fortitude, a willingness to adapt, and a forward-thinking mindset are the tools we can rely on as we face whatever challenges come next.