Why we expect the End of the World

It was hard to know which forum in which to post this, as it is a theory, based on observation of attitudes on a topic of interest in many of the forums on this site.

We have all noticed how so many seem to expect the End of the World to happen any time now. There have been so many discussions on when and how this will happen.

There are often comments about how so many seem to have an affinity for doom porn. People are sometimes mocked for it. It is certainly strange how so many find these topics interesting.

Then, one line in a TV show tonight made a lightbulb go off... for me anyway.

***SPOILER ALERT*** if you have not yet watched tonight's Fear the Walking Dead, don't ready anymore!



If you have not watched Fear the Walking Dead - there is a character named Nick, who is a heroin junky. Before the zombie apocalypse he dealt with the horrors of addiction. He dealt with bouts of rehab in between periods of homelessness, facing dangers on the streets, struggles with his family, etc. His character faces the zombie apocalypse with a different set of challenges than others might.

But after days clean, tonight he seemed to have a revelation. He told his mother he felt strange.
Then he said: "It's like I've been living this for a long time. And the world is finally catching up."

The world finally ended. In the show it is zombies, but they could be symbolic for almost any apocalyptic cause.

It made me think - Perhaps this is what drives the attraction to doom porn for so many. So many are struggling with the horrors of the world, either directly or indirectly through the constant bombardment from the media of the horrors all over the world in so many forms. And we may not even realize it, but we are probably all thinking that things can't possibly go on like this. We all struggle in our ways, even if not like a heroin junky. We are already living in the "end", but it's like the world did not yet realize it has ended. The world did not catch up yet. Maybe deep down in our minds, we keep waiting for that defining moment, when we can say that the world is finally catching up.

And if this is what drives the doom porn obsession, its really sad. Because I really believe there is so much good in the world. There is also so much that is scary though. We just need to find a way to focus on the positive.

I am over fifty and have been hearing that it's the end of the world my whole life. Nothing ever happened. We are still here. I stopped worrying about it years ago.

a reply to: BlueAjah

It's so hard to see the positive when the world we live in is shrouded in darkness. For some people, the end is a new beginning. A chance to finally escape this place and move on to the great beyond.

You're right. There is still good in the world, but with so much chaos and violence, it's hard to see past it.

s&f

a reply to: Quyll

Good point about a new beginning!
That could be another thing on Nick's mind. His live was a mess, and now with the whole world turned upside down, he has a chance to start over.
Which could be another reason so many look forward to a drastic world shake-up. It would wipe away the past and give them a new beginning. And nothing quite wipes away everything in your past like an apocalyptic situation.

a reply to: BlueAjah

Ah, but the only difficulty with living in a post apocalyptic world is dealing with the upheaval of the animalistic minds of humans. Debt and materialism are gone, but a whole new set of problems arise. Once that calms down though, a new world can begin again if people let it.

Good thoughts, i knew immediatly what you were getting at when you mentioned FTWD lol.

Personally I route for the end of the world sayers. When i read their jargon i actually think to myself, wouldnt that be something? zombie apocalypse? WW3? Blood moons and jews or what ever tha was all about?
Sure why not! Ill take it.
if its zombies i really hope my wife is one of the first people i know to get bit.

Travis lived every mans dream tonight in FTWD. What man doesn't dream of blowing their ex's head off?

a reply to: BlueAjah

The problem is our current civilization is becoming increasingly unsustainable. For example, toxic chemicals are being dumped in to the environment and lost of natural habitat due to greed.

It won't be long before Karma decides to bomb humanity back to stone age.

The world is never going to end. Life goes on, either on or off this planet. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed and the universe is one giant ball of energy with varying forms or vibrations meaning it cannot be destroyed nor ended. Even if our planet gets hit by an asteroid tomorrow, the universe will not even notice, it will carry on like always.

The idea of the world ending keeps people afraid, afraid of HOW it's going to end and how they will be ended themselves. Don't worry about the end, it will never come. We ourselves are energy, our bodies may die but the essence that makes us who we are will carry on.

Stop worrying about it, worrying causes stress and stress causes health problems.

a reply to: Quyll

Very true. That is one of the interesting parts of both Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.
It's fascinating to watch people evolve in their new world, and to see how they cope.
For some it brings out the best in them and shows their strength, some grow new strengths they might never have seen otherwise, and some just become animalistic in their quest for survival.
The whole structure of morality seems to change.

a reply to: BlueAjah

You are correct in that! It takes a brave person to survive in a post apocalyptic world. Personally, I would never want to be a part of that. What about you?

a reply to: Quyll

I certainly hope it never happens.
But I think something drastic needs to happen to turn things around, or the human situation is going to go on in a negative direction.
Something needs to change to give people a much more positive view of our future.
We will know we have reached that point when so many are not expecting the end - when instead of doom porn, most threads are about dreams and hopes for the future.

a reply to: BlueAjah

I can tell you're an optimist! The world definitely needs more of people like you. Thank you for such an awesome conversation. I think that's what ATS and the world needs more of. Good conversation instead of the constant bickering and bashing of others who's ideas differ, even a little bit.

Maybe that's why people see the end as an escape, because the majority of them have gotten away from learning from one another and instead have adopted the reaction of dislike and perpetual hatred.

I think it's a mix of all of the above. I think most people just want to live out their fantasies. With chaos brings order, I personally think a major apocalyptic event is needed the way things are going...

We are already living in the "end", but it's like the world did not yet realize it has ended.

Some people live in past, most the now, and some the future. Its our differences that guarantee human survival. With the world debt at $223.3 trillion I don't think we have too many more years before war or anarchy hits out shores.

Very insightful post. I too think this is why so many people are fascinated by the end of the world and why so many are waiting on the edge of their seats.

Yes, many people do project their personal difficulties on to the world as a whole.

But I think apocaplyptic expectations are not so much a counsel of despair as an expression of hostility towards the powerful and successful, the people who 'run' the world.

In fact, nobody runs the world. Everybody tries — if not the whole world, at least their own little corner of it — and that very fact, combined with the capriciousness of nature, means that nobody actually can run it. Too many hands on the tiller, pulling every which way.

You can't watch a show or movie without it being sex, drugs or killing. Even in cartoons it's there if only thinly veiled. It's disgusting and you can't go 10 minutes without seeing it, than to top it off it's a bombardment of commercials selling you garbage every 20 minutes. 99.99% of everything that comes on that television has subliminal content rewiring your thought process on a level most don't even understand or realize.

Even for those who have stopped watching, many have still spent countless hours having their brains remapped anyway. When you see an image or even a color, a #ing tree for god sakes it evokes an emotion in you that you were programmed to feel.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

You can't watch a show or movie without it being sex, drugs or killing. Even in cartoons it's there if only thinly veiled.

Yes. That is because people get a thrill out of sex, drugs and killing, even if it's only on a screen.

It's disgusting and you can't go 10 minutes without seeing it

Yet you continue to watch, and so does everybody else. What message are you sending to the programmers?

Then to top it off it's a bombardment of commercials selling you garbage every 20 minutes.

Yes, that's the price you have to pay to watch all that juicy sex, drugs and killing. Advertisers buy the programmes for you and then make you pay your share by watching commercials.

99.99% of everything that comes on that television has subliminal content rewiring your thought process on a level most don't even understand or realize.

Completely untrue, unless your idea of 'subliminal' is product placement, which isn't.

Even for those who have stopped watching, many have still spent countless hours having their brains remapped anyway.

Could you link us to the studies (not 'news' articles purpotedly about such studies) that demonstrate this?

When you see an image or even a color, a #ing tree for god sakes it evokes an emotion in you that you were programmed to feel.

Oh, I see. So anything evocative is subliminal persuasion. Do you read? Look at pictures? Listen to music? Listen to your friends and neighbours telling stories? You'd better give it all up, they're remapping your mind for you!

Personally I believe doom porn is an industry in itself. It sells books, movies and newspapers. As we all should know by now is it is very lucrative.

Have always thought about paintng rocks silver or gold and marketing them in a way as to give you some sort of protection from spirits to meteorite strikes.

Sad thing is that I believe they would sell....

Apparently, people can have an amicable conversation about the end of the world, as long as things like zombies are mentioned, and no one brings up the biblical prophecies that have actually come true.