If I am going to attract many readers, it would be wise to raise alarm. That's what the boy who cried "Wolf!" found out. He overdid the practice and people started ignoring his call. Had he been a modern writer, he might have tried a more compelling cry, maybe "Two wolves!" Eventually, his alarm phrase would have to list a larger number of wolves ("2,237 wolves approaching Smith's flock!"). A modern marketer would have advised him to monetize his call ("Wolf warning! But, first, shop at Bud's for the finest produce! An enormous pack has been spotted…)
There is just so much alarm people will respond to. Modern communications, writers, journalists and elderly sourpusses have many more threats to list than just wolves. Atmospheric pollution, incoming comets and space debris, foreign agents bent on undermining the human way of life and the Western/Eastern/Northern/Southern Dream - there are too many dangers, worries and calamities to list - all these frightening, depressing, scary possibilities can be used to get more readers and more subscribers.
I suggest a little moderation.
You only have so many days to live. Unknown number but commonly, it turns out to be lower that you wanted. So, watch how you spend your time.
It is very possible that you recall extreme unpleasantries from the past but in general, cries of Wolf! and Market downturn! and Armageddon! refer to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day IN THE FUTURE. If such a day doesn't arrive, you will have spent your time, energy and flyer miles for a false alarm. If it does arrive, live happily in the good time you still have.
Humans have been around for a very long time. You may have already experienced life without electricity, indoor plumbing and internal combustion machines. Without those and the internet and Facebook and Instagram, life would be miserable, totally miserable. But, give us a little time, some researchers, some experimenters, some thinkers, and we will find ways to improve on things. Give us some observers with clear vision and wide imagination, and we will make the best of whatever we have, and then improve on it.
