Are there more preppers now we have experienced COVID19?

Are there more preppers after covid?

The potential events that could happen that could potentially collapse certain parts of modern society are getting demonstrably more common as we get to a point of shortages of all kinds. Of course, there are different levels of prepping that can be for different reasons. What is important to understand is why it has become more popular.

A prepper or the prepping community exists for people to look at an alternative to completely relying on a supply chain but, instead, taking an active investment in their food storage. Most people go through the premade food storage route, but there are even ways to create your food storage and that is canning and freeze-drying.

What History Shows Us

Throughout the 20th century, many people lived a rural lifestyle, even before the 20th century. In those times there was no food supply like there is and has been in the later 20th and early 21st century but, in contrast, we have become overly reliant on a food supply chain. In the United States, there has been a movement of preppers since the Cold War. More specifically, since the 1950s into the 60s. With the threat of nuclear war in the US, families took it seriously.

After many years that brought a series of recessions, a man by the name of Harry Browne, a known investment advisor, started to teach people how to survive an economic collapse and gave seminars. Even in the 60s, a key book to the movement called “Retreater’s Bibliography” written by Don Stephen showed a potential solution in having a secondary location to retreat to in the event of a natural disaster in wartime event. For a while preppers of the time would be considered “Retreaters” and “Survivalists”.

In the 70s and 80s, a distinction was made between the two, A “Retreater” would be considered far less confrontational and a “Survivalist” had a more aggressive and took it more seriously. In the 1990s survivalists and the preparedness, the community was stigmatized as “extremists” due to events such as the “Siege of Ruby Ridge” which was led by a man named Timothy McVeigh. Even at end of the 1990s rumors of an infrastructure damaging event known as Y2K was spread around different communities but since then have been debated as a hoax.

After the events of September 11th, 2001, the term was coined “Prepping” and it was synonymous with survivalists of the past. And people began calling themselves “preppers” to distinguish themselves from the older image, and eventually, by 2010 it became mainstream and had been encouraged. Since then, prepping and the prepper community has steady growth.

Reasons to Become a Prepper

There are a lot of potential ways to be a prepper and to adapt some prepping principles to your life. Be prepared for any dangerous event such as a shortage, natural disaster, or anything else imaginable or otherwise. Here are some reasons you may want to become a prepper.

• To become more self-reliant.
• To become adaptable and navigate life, being able to be a problem solver.
• Become less financially dependent on undependable and unreliable systems.

Criticisms & Final Thoughts

The main criticism that the prepping community has is due to the seemingly ill-founded fear that a collapse economically or logistically could happen. However, there have been actual real-life examples that society and its complex inner and outer workings are very fragile. Since 2020 and 2021 there has been a labor shortage and problems in the supply chain from other countries trying to import goods into the United States.

It’s also worth mentioning that despite some criticism, prepping has been an increasingly popular venture for more and more families and people from all walks of life. It is a simple thought experiment to ask yourself what would I do to be prepared for anything?