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Comment by black_puppydog | Hacker News Reader

So... anyone else having doubts that with all the apocalyptic things going on around the world people will keep their appetite for mindless distraction and will still be able/willing to one-click buy random stuff on a whim? When they might have to expect waiting weeks for the delivery, and/or pay humongous transport fees?

Asking because that seems to be what much of modern IT is angling for and why there's so much money in it.

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> else having doubts that with all the apocalyptic things going on around the world people will keep their appetite for mindless distraction and will still be able/willing to one-click buy random stuff on a whim

Wouldn't people in the described apocalyptic scenario want mindless distraction? Anything to keep their minds off the, well, apocalyptic things going on.

That's true until people are suddenly hungry odr thirsty. Hunger or thrist will force them to act. And not necesserily nicely.

Exactly, mindless distraction is only an option when you are comfortable. Try not eating for a day + turning off your heating/cooling and see how interesting Twitter is then.

Mindless distraction is exactly what you turn to when your efforts to better your life become too monumental to bear: lifespans shorten because destitution drives people to apathy or an open desire for suicide.

Sounds like we're talking about two different things.

Both movies and cheap novels have historicaly been popular during wartime.

I can’t even go and browse message boards as a distraction any more, sigh.

Energy is on track to stay the same price or get cheaper as it gets cleaner.

The big question isn't really whether we clean it up, it's the timetable.

Cost and availability of energy is a great proxy for transport cost.

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