It's the effing news networks man, every once in a while they take a tidbit of information and sensationalize it into a full blown clusterf*ck of panic. Examples:
Swine flu. News networks all over the place run headlines that read: "New Global Pandemic?" I read articles on news websites detailing "The U.S. Government's Worst Case Scenario" for responding to global disease, where sports stadiums and every public arena is closed, everyone walks around in haz-mat suits, etc. School systems all over the nation close in fear of harboring the next "patient zero" and causing countless children to die.
Now it's 2-3 weeks later and we are only now being told "Oh, it turns out it's not a pandemic. IT'S A F*CKING COLD."
Gas shortages. Last year I get a phone call: "Hey the news is saying that gas is going up to $5 a gallon because of the hurricane, so you better go fill up your cars now!" I go to the gas station like a moron, and sit in a 45 minute line to pay $4 for gas, thinking I'm saving money. Turns out a week later, the news reports "Because of the run on the pumps, gas stations were short of fuel, causing gas prices to stay high for at least another few weeks." Thanks, uninformed panic.
Bank runs. Though this hasn't been a huge problem yet, with the "stress testing" that the government is doing on banks, you know if ONE single bank name is dropped as "possibly" being at risk to go under, that bank will sink like a damn rock within the week because everyone and their mom will yank their cash in a heartbeat.
All that to say: maybe if people reported the news in a wise and prudent way - as opposed to sensationalizing EVERYTHING - then we might be able to make more informed decisions that didn't immediately screw ourselves over all the time.