ADSactly Analysis - Why Do People Get So Excited About Apocalyptic Scenarios?
Why Do People Get So Excited About Apocalyptic Scenarios?
Pop culture has a lot of love for post-apocalyptic worlds. The reason why this is true is a mystery however... it's just something within us feels attracted to the idea of being in one of these situations.
So, why do people get so excited about Apocalyptic Scenarios? What makes people romanticize the end of the world as we know it?
What is the reason that leads preppers to hope for the inevitable to happen? Well, this is what I felt like writing today, as I think that can be explained by both our current society, the evolutionary biology and traits we developed throughout the years. If this is something you feel interests you, then read below…
The Ability to Pillage… And Get Away With It!
One of the first reasons most people love the idea of being nearly alone in the world against the elements is… the part where you can pillage everything.
Some people dream about being alone in a big city so they can enter any store, grab whatever they want, and get away with it. Imagine having that one object you always wanted but could never afford just at an arm’s reach!
It’s definitely something that pumps anyone’s enthusiasm levels up.
Another thing, that isn’t pillaging per se but is related to the idea of appropriation is having the choice of place to live. If you want to live in that luxurious mansion you always look at when you’re running errands… done! Heck, some people even have everything planned out in their minds for the inevitable zombie apocalypse, complete with travel plans and everything – just ask around… you’ll be surprised!
Breaking The Routine: Monotony of Modern Society
Another thing I've heard psychologists point out is that this scenario is attractive because it breaks the routine and the monotony installed in present day society. The individual is free from his responsibilities to the society because there's no society.
Humans are tribal, they are meant to live in small societies, and the only way society could grow to the numbers witnessed today was through the pressures it builds upon the individuals - like judicial, executive, and even peer pressure.
To live in a world with no society would break us free from these bonds, and without us noticing this may just be the biggest factor to consider on justifying why we feel living in the world of the Walking Dead could have its plus.
To Live a Simpler Life: Testing Yourself Against the Elements!
When talking about apocalyptic scenarios, the group that is the most excited about them happening is, of course, the prepper's crew.
There's a trend when it comes to preppers and survival enthusiasts - this is a hobby that increases in adoption the more its society host is evolved and out of touch with nature. In third world countries there are a lot less preppers, and in countries where hunger and disease abound, people have less attraction to this apocalyptic idea, and this has a reasonable cause - it has to do with Mazlow's Pyramid of Needs.
Basically, Mazlow's Pyramid points out humans have base needs (food, water, sex etc...) and top tier needs like spirituality, self-development, building up status and so on. With a lot of abundance in our lives as far as food and water is concerned (sex can be a problem to a few), people take the top tier needs too seriously, and even just what others think of you can crush some individuals with pressure, helping them develop anxiety and depression, among other even more severe and life-threatening conditions.
Humans long for a simpler time in which their only worry would be to survive, and those days in which they would live the present instead of constantly worrying about the future.
Less Competition: Going Tribal Again
As I said previously, Tribalism is what we feel comfortable adopting. When it comes to post-apocalyptic worlds, you don't see big complex societies any more, and that's partially the attraction of it as well.
When something really big disrupts our society, we go back to having micro-societies in which people compete less, as they are less in each group to begin with.
Not only that, there are also a lot of people dreaming of their tribe having plenty of people from the gender they're attracted to, thus decreasing the competition to mate - trust me, I researched and found people mention this variable a lot, so people DO indeed think like that... it isn't just you!
On the other hand, people also feel that a scenario like that would pose the perfect chance for them to test themselves and see if they would have what it takes to survive.
In Conclusion: What If It Really Happened?
People find the idea attractive, but that is just until you confront them with the logistics and reality pop art never exposes.
On the other hand, some of the people on the fringe of society or those preppers could actually like it... at first! They would go with it until the initial attraction would wear off and they realize what they are into.
Without the comfort of the bigger societies we set up, and without people working the backstage, humanity would devolve into the times in which you would die of a paper cut or something... and hence the romance ends.
What about you?
Did you ever think about what you'd do if you faced a post-apocalyptic scenario?
Since many of you are going to answer yes - how would you see it run? And how would you see it end?
I would love to know the answers to these questions, please comment below with any thoughts or questions, and I'll be sure to answer plenty of them.
Authored by @spiritualmax
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Self-confidence is the most important
Great tips from you, well done
Thanks for sharing..
Zombie themed movies were just an imaginative scenario of some directors in an apocalyptic event. Due to the greed of some, many were fall into the bondage of poverty and thus making the world into chaos and leads to destruction - and there the apocalyptic event may take place. And here the strong only survives and the weak will be exterminated.
So, you think the weak perishing is something some find attractive?
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...but most of the people, even preppers, will die in the first 48-72 hours...
Today's world is full of corruption, evils, sadness, and hopelessness.
For a lot of people, an apocalypse is like a new beginning. A chance to make their mark on society (or what's left of it) and rise to the top.
For other people, it's a release. Maybe people were tired of the world, and the apocalypse is their excuse to be released from the world.
Either way, for a lot of people it will be an opporitunity.
Very sad but very true. I do think movies have romanticised the idea of an apocalypse and many of us don't understand the reality of it. If an apocalypse were to occur I think it would be due to a deadly disease, there is nothing cool about being surrounded by dead bodies on a dying planet. Luckily its only imagination and won't be a reality.
Pretty much, that's why I mention people from 3rd world countries have less of this fantasy.
I think for us westerners, there is some collective guilt for trashing the planet / ecosystem, and exploiting the fuck out of the 99% for a few centuries. Karmic death wish?
Yeap, that's exactly what I think myself.... people are enticed by the ability to "start anew"
I do stack some extra food, water and necessities as well. I can’t call myself “prepper”, but I always thought it’s a good idea to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. History showed us it has happened many times before and it’s only matter of time when something similar happens again. I definitely don’t root for anything bad to happen, as a matter of fact I pray almost everyday for peace in the entire world 🌎.
That’s really add and extreme reason. This is first time I hear anything like that. But you might be righ, there are different kind of people dreaming about different kind of worlds. This leads me to a question “is it better to prepare for this kind of zombie situations or is it better if you just live your live and deal with it when it actually comes? I chose somewhere between. In my opinion if you chose this extreme way, it may as well be pulling you down psychologically. You may as well regret it when you get old and think about “how you lived your life”. On the other hand you can see how some countries are collapsing, look at Venezuela 🇻🇪, this could happen anywhere. Even in US with all this careless money printing and debt. Do you really see our future that bright or do you expect some kind of crises? Then there are natural disasters which can cause catastrophic situations and even crises. I chose to leave it up to Mather nature, prepare for worst case scenario and pray for this to never happen. As you mentioned “people are excited about apocalypse”. They might as well create one for that reason.
Great topic @spiritualmax & @adsactly!
Thanks man... and I agree that being prepared is great... just doesn't pay it to be prepared for a Zombie apocalypse, but for any other it is a great idea... I also ahve canned food and water around just in case of a natural disaster or something-
If I ever faced a post-apocalypse scenario, I'd probably straight up die, so I'm not particularly into the idea of society collapsing and things becoming destroyed. The people with the highest chances of survival are the ones who are already rich today, just look at these bunkers that the super rich have built for themselves! Super cozy and probably with well paid security, it's very hard to compete against that. And then there are those with a wealth of survival experience (I think book knowledge isn't enough in these cases, experience knowledge is better), especially farming. I can see people liking the idea of having no responsibilities and getting to have whatever they want but that's so short sighted, if they thought they had no responsibility before just imagine a year after an apocalypse ends and all the easy food is gone.
That said, an apocalypse would probably be a way for nature to recover from being so damaged by human greed but as a human I do not like the idea of an apocalypse as a solution for pollution. For example, as mentioned above, it would probably mean a dead me. They say Genghis Khan (who was probably the embodiment of the apocalypse in his day) killed so many people that there was a large period of time for forest regrowth, but damn that's pretty much apocalypse level of death.
It's so easy to fantasize about zombie apocalypses but that's just so simplistic. On top of the whole living long term thing, apocalypses themselves or things like them probably have intelligent enemies (the Mongols were very tactical), plague (like the Black Death), or straight up things one person can't fight against (nukes or asteroids). Are there movies on those kinds of events? (Actually, I'm aware of one - Grave of the Fireflies, an anime about the ending of the war in Japan, it's really quite sad... naturally, all these events have historical books as well)
Dying... now that's something everyone is qualified to do :D
Definitelly one thing: get rid of credit liabilities and start on our own, without things the world forces us to have.
Hahaha, that's a funny one... probably true for many.
The fact is that most people wonder how the world will end up.... There have been many prophecies. The most famous was in 2012, and they even made a film about the destruction of the world by global climate problems.
There are so many ways in which the world could be destroyed.... Weather problems, a meteorite, a nuclear war, a war against artificial intelligence and, despite being something of a movie, a zombie apocalypse may be possible. Some time ago I read about a scientific discovery where they discovered that a bacterium could cause a brain disease that would result in zombie-like behaviors.
My personal opinion is that most people are not even a little prepared to face the end of the world.... We don't have the training to survive in a world where we probably have to hunt, shelter, camouflage, etc.
Many think it may be easy to survive, but it is not, especially if you are alone.
Only soldiers like the U.S. Marines and other great soldiers of the world would be prepared to face something of this magnitude. Their training is tough and they have great knowledge of overall survival.
Many will want to be there to fulfill their fantasy of knowing what to be in such a world.... But the fact is, when they see the reality, they will want to never have wished they were there.
As for your questions:
I've thought about this a lot... But I honestly don't know what I would do. I don't think I'd survive long enough.
And I believe that at best only a few of them would survive, spread all over the world. The strongest and most knowledgeable.
A greeting @adsactly @spiritualmax!!
No problem, thanks for the comment as well! :D
I think I'm pretty knowleageable, maybe id last a bit :P
World-Ending Scenarios: This Is How The Apocalypse May Happen. Every so often, a religious fringe group will claim the world’s end is imminent and name a random day the apocalypse will happen. After a while, you start to roll your eyes, but how will the world end?
No one really knows...ç
It is difficult to guess what the apocalypse will be if it certainly happens. We are more than once frightened by another "end of the world." But even if this happens, it is necessary to understand what scenario it will be. For example, many argue about the threat that will come from artificial intelligence (which has not yet been created). Well, or about anthropogenic catastrophe that will change the climate on earth and destroy large populations.
I will dwell on the technogenic catastrophe. If something terrible happened, the first thing people began to do is store food. Depending on the situation, vandalism would begin. People in a panic began to steal shops. The law would pass to the second plan. Survival is above all, and therefore those people who guarded the law went over to the other side.
Stocking food with the best varinat is to wait out a catastrophe somewhere in the shelter. This is logical because in life you will be more cautious.
State systems will cease to exist. Remain separate societies of privileged people who will have steep pieces with complete autonomy. To such people it is necessary to carry vyskikh officials and other people with authority. But their power on this and end as their monetary wealth will cease to have a key role. In fact, humanity will take a step back. It is unique to appear separate groups led by marginals (which in the modern world are highly primitive people).
Depending on the damage to be caused to the planet, individual people will look for solutions. I saw many talented people who know how to do unusual things from improvised materials. It is these clever people who will not be lost. And for ordinary people, life will be difficult. The food will end and this will be the main problem.
This scenario can be described in greater detail. But I see it as the mixture that was shown in the films "Mad Max" and "Book of Eli".
There are so many ways the world can end, that it is kind of a mystery that we're still in existence at all :D