The novel coronavirus is causing a lot of concerns to consumers. With this, people are panic buying and piling stocks of necessities such as food, water, toilet paper, and formula milk.
Lauren Whitney posted a TikTok video of her crying because her daughter's diaper ran out when she went grocery shopping in Walmart last weekend.
The mother of four told the Insider that she was going to buy one box of her youngest daughter's diaper that would be meant to last until her next paycheque arrives.
However, to her dismay, empty shelves greeted her. The size of her daughter's diaper is out of stock. The discouraged and upset Utah mom recorded her reaction and posted on social media.
Addressing her video to all the crazy people buying diapers, she asked them, while in tears, how she was going to put a diaper on her child if she could not even buy at least 20 pieces at a time.
Initially, Whitney had no intention of posting the video online, but thanks to her tears, which got into her vision, she accidentally shared it online.
An hour later, she returned to the app and found that her post had gone viral.
In the end, Whitney had decided to leave her post, hoping viewers would see the impact of bulk buying.
The video has been viewed at least 5.2 million times. As of writing, the post has received more than 900,000 likes and almost 15,000 comments.
One commenter also shared his grief, saying he also went to Walmart to buy formula milk but was disappointed upon seeing that there was no formula left.
Another one said that the behavior shown by the panic buyers is "NOT COMMUNITY", and no compassion. He felt sorry for Whitney.
One reply to her post, that got 100,000 likes, said that the virus would not kill us - that it is greed; and that he was so sorry to the mother.
The video's comment section got flooded by concerned citizens who were all sympathetic and were offering Whitney help.
After receiving so much support from the netizens, Whitney posted another TikTok video to thank the viewers. In the video, she said that even if they are not that rich, she and her family can survive financially.
She said that she wanted to post the video to raise awareness among people who are panic buying so that they would know they are causing problems to those who could not afford to do the same.She also said that the clip was due to the "rough week" that she had. So her emotions were high.
Viral Sensation is Something New
Whitney added another TikTok post talking about how she felt being viral.
She said that she does not know how to handle going viral and does not know how to feel about it. Still, she is so grateful for all the followers, commenters, and likers.
She said that she was going nuts for the last 24 hours or so. She wanted to thank all the people who have been following up on her situation. She is hoping that she could put some good content after the incident.
Whitney wants people to understand the reality that low-earning families are facing a tough time during situations like this.She says some people do not get paid as often or as much as others do, making it hard for them to get into stores to buy the necessary stuff. Nevertheless, she is hoping that they would stop bulk buying and that they would realize that others have the same need as for them.
