Belief in Fiction and Coronavirus Panic

A few years ago I worked in telemarketing.  (I truly did.  Go head and judge.  I know.  I know).  All employees went to breaks at the same time.  One evening, I went to break after other employees had already started.  One employee asked another, "Did you see Carol is in the hospital?  They don't know if she is going to make it."  Concerned because I thought a beloved friend or family member was dying, I asked what was going on.  My co-worker responded, "Oh, it's a soap opera."  

Fast forward a few years - a new work place, a new set of coworkers.  I often heard adults discussing Call of Duty as though they were actual soldiers shooting down the enemy.  The re-lived their excitement in the conversations I overheard - excitement that they killed this person or that and almost died themselves.  

Let's jump to today now.  The big news is the global pandemic COVID-19 or Coronavirus.  Although Coronavirus is not to be taken lightly whatsoever, how many are basing opinions of the illness on fiction?  I recently read an article that describes the literary discussions that Stephen King predicted Coronavirus in The Stand.  How many books, movies, and video games have centered on a killer virus? - Everything from Resident Evil to I Am Legend to, well, The Stand.  These forms of entertainment have made people think, but they can also lead to mass panic (and, as many point out, the hoarding of toilet paper).  

I am not at all against reading or viewing or playing and enjoying these titles.  I adore realistic fiction because it makes me think in new ways.  However, we cannot allow fiction to become reality.  That is the problem.  It is a problem when we live the life of soap opera characters.  It is problem when we become a part of a video game.  And it is a problem when we base our ideas of a virus on fiction.  We must be able to distinguish fiction from reality.  We must not become so involved in a fictional world that we believe it is more real than (or just as real as) what we experience in life.  Fiction is great for an escape.  Let us, though, seek to live a life that is even better than fiction.  Let us invest time and energy into living each moment to the fullest.