'Doomsday' prophecy triggers 'doomsday' economy

Various types of products related to "doomsday" prophecy sell well as the so-called "end of the world" approaches.

The film 2012 made a huge profit of $ 769 million due to its exaggeration of people's doomsday complex, taking lead in the industry triggered by doomsday prophecy.

The rumor stirs panic buying is the food industry. In Britain, sales of quick-frozen food, canned food and dry foods have soared, especially the king-sized canned food with the shelf life of 25 years.

Shipping industry also benefits from the "end of the world" rumor. The index for the sales of "Noah Ark ticket" increased by 114.3 percent last week, and the "must-have items for survivors of 2012" including first aid kits sell extremely well. Mexico, the cradle of the Mayan civilization, takes advantage of the prophecy to initiate the tourism year. Taobao.com, the biggest B2C online network in Asia, has launched the program of "making a wish list for the doomsday", creating excuses for consumers to buy luxury goods.

Non-believers of the "doomsday" rumor take advantage of it to make money while non-believers are bothered by it. The prophecy stirs up panic and disturbance every once in a while.

Why has the doomsday complex not vanished as science and technology develops? Zhu Hongzhuo, associate researcher of Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science said doomsday indicates collective death in essence. The unknown death makes people frightened. The more frightened people feel, the more negative information they tend to focus on, thereby forming a vicious circle. Thus some people trust the "doomsday" prophecy more than ever. The doomsday complex is like a mirror reflecting people's different mindsets and emotions.

Actually, people do not need worry too much about the anxiety and panic since they to some extent drive the development of science and technology, and make people revere the nature and learn to coexist with it in a harmonious way.