No matter how simple or advanced the explanation is, regardless of the details or benefits, regardless of the necessity or safety: across the globe, there will always be someone willing to break quarantine and go out anyway. The fact that they risk their health and that of others is not enough to make them think twice, and in the short term they represent a very serious problem. Why do they do it? Psychologists offer us different reasons.
**People on beaches and squares**, in bars and restaurants, crowded inside markets, or making long lines to enter and leave cities. People who want to go on vacation, *and who return from vacation*. People who try to visit friends and family, who seek to go to church, or simply **abuse exit permits** to take long strolls.
**"They can't force me," "I do what I want," "they won't take away my freedom"**... the responses on social media from those seeking to justify themselves are shocking and controversial. The rest of the public *accuses and exposes them*, while authorities threaten harsh sanctions... but they do it anyway. **Why do they break quarantine?** As expected, psychologists around the world are having a field day, and although it would be feasible to reduce the answer to **"human nature"**, there are more detailed reasons worth exploring:
The "three levels of response"
**Gordon Asmundson**, professor of psychology at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan and an expert in anxiety, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress, divides us into three levels: *over-responders, under-responders, and those in between*. The **"over-responders"** are the paranoid ones, those who give in to panic and raid markets, carrying off every available roll of toilet paper. Those of us in the middle simply *accept the situation* and understand it is necessary without major complaints. **But the "under-responders" believe they are invulnerable and immune.** For them, *getting sick is not a possibility*, and they ignore any public health recommendation, including social distancing.
Seeking to regain control
For those who break quarantine, this mandatory isolation *is equivalent to a loss of power and control*. **Vaile Wright**, director of research and clinical quality at the American Psychological Association, explains that this constant challenge **"makes the virus smaller"**, and seeks to combat the idea that some things are beyond our control.
They don't believe it's their problem
There are still people convinced that **COVID-19 is an external problem foreign to their region**, or that they can escape it with a long stay elsewhere. **Steven Taylor**, psychologist and author of the book *"The Psychology of Pandemics"*, says that people living in communities where the infection hasn't progressed or where authorities have refused to implement quarantines might resist maintaining social distance. **Not seeing the immediate effects of the virus, their immediate response is to minimize its significance.**
Infodemic
Doctor Taylor adds another parameter: **"Infodemic"**. The constant bombardment of COVID-19 on television, radio, the internet, and social media contacts leads to *an enormous insensitivity to the topic*. Conflicting information, *fake news*, contradictions from authorities *("young people are safe" - "young people are at risk")*, and the apocalyptic tone of many media outlets only increase the overload.
Individualism
Some see it as a generational fact, but it's not. The Western world, with special emphasis on the United States, **has valued individual freedoms so much** that some people **don't hesitate to place them above the common good**. That line of thought is *absolutely incompatible* with the parameters needed to face a pandemic. Health workers and even celebrities take to social media day by day in an attempt to convey the benefits of staying home, both for each individual and for the population at risk, **but individualism and the "me first" culture act as resistive elements.**
Loneliness
One point on which every psychologist agrees: **humans seek to connect in some way**, and denying that social interaction for prolonged periods can be harmful. This is particularly difficult among older adults, who are already part of a group with higher mortality due to depression and loneliness. Add to that a natural rejection of the use of technology as a means of communication.
In many cases, it's inevitable
The last reason has less to do with psychological factors and more with direct, unavoidable needs. **With the harsh advance of the "gig economy" and constant job insecurity**, millions of people find themselves outside social protection systems, and must go out to earn an income, ignoring authorities. There's nothing to choose or analyze here: They decide to roll the dice against the disease, because the alternative is *an empty pantry, a missing medication, or a jug of chlorine that can't be bought*. In short: **If they don't go out, they don't eat**... and COVID-19 loses relevance.
**Source:** CNN
