Should there be restrictions on “illness-related” online shopping addiction?
This year’s “Double 11” is the same as in previous years. Many people started shopping and stocking up early, but if you can’t control your shopping spree, be careful. Recently, Xiao Xu, a female white-collar worker, could not control herself. She did not hesitate to overdraft credit cards, loans, etc., bought many things but could not use them at all, and her temper became increasingly irritable. Her family felt something was wrong and took her to see a doctor. They later found out that she was suffering from bipolar disorder and that her shopping spree was caused by this disease.
Xiao Xu’s “Double 11” this year is a super long version. She has been shopping online with a large amount of overdraft since October. At first, her family was unaware of her behavior. It was not until they received a credit card collection bill that they were shocked when they saw that the overdraft amounted to hundreds of thousands, but they regretted it too late. This may seem outrageous, but it is not uncommon. Similar news appears after Double 11 every year. Except for extreme cases, irrational online shopping that does not cause a family financial crisis is more common.
Bipolar disorder generally refers to a clinical mood disorder that includes both manic or hypomanic episodes and depressive episodes. People with bipolar disorder experience a roller coaster of emotions that alternate between excitement and depression. During a manic episode, patients are excited, talkative, restless, irritable, extremely energetic, feel particularly capable, and have increased activities; however, during a depressive episode, they often feel depressed and feel that there is no hope in life. , excessive sleep, strong self-loathing, reduced activity, negative thoughts, etc.
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that can lead to shopping addiction and even becoming a “shopaholic”. Faced with a dazzling array of products, patients have a pathological possessiveness. Even if they know that they are useless or are repeated purchases, they will place an order without thinking. They will even panic if they don’t buy a few things in a day. Currently, mental illness is on the rise, and the incidence of this disease will naturally increase. In the future, similar crazy overdraft online shopping phenomena may become more and more common.
If someone in the family goes crazy and overdrafts for online shopping, the family can quickly fall into financial difficulties. Even the “shopaholic” himself may regret it deeply after he sobers up. Crazy online shopping is very harmful to the family. Family members should supervise their relatives who have this tendency and take them to the doctor and take medication in a timely manner. This is especially true during special periods such as “Double 11”.
Patients with mental illness do not have the capacity for civil liability during the attack. During this period, they shopped a large amount online pathologically. It is worth exploring whether they can “return goods due to illness”. Of course, “returns due to illness” involve many aspects. In particular, the market order will inevitably be affected. Merchants have no way to verify whether the shopper has a mental illness and is in the episode. “Returns due to illness” must be balanced. It is not easy to protect the rights and interests of all parties.
In addition, they may not have the capacity for civil liability when shopping online. In theory, the guardian has the right to act as an agent for their shopping behavior and handle civil disputes arising from online shopping. In this case, whether the guardian can apply to the online shopping platform in advance to restrict the ward’s online shopping behavior during the seizure, these issues are worth exploring. Although it is necessary to introduce such preventive measures, it will also involve issues such as patient privacy and whether the requests made by guardians are appropriate, and require precise design of the rules.
Continuously discovering and solving problems is one of the important ways to promote social progress. As for the phenomenon of crazy overdraft online shopping “due to illness”, society currently lacks a unified understanding, let alone a unified response and disposal method. This gap needs to be filled. Patients with mental illness should receive social tolerance and care, and pathological online shopping should not become a “runaway wild horse.” It is necessary for society to discuss this and see if relevant measures can be introduced to help families solve this thorny problem.
