The Y2K catastrophe folklore

Record summary

The Y2K computer-date problem generated widespread predictions of infrastructure collapse, financial panic, martial law, food shortages, and social disorder at the turn of 2000. Government preparedness campaigns, corporate advertising, survivalist literature, and news coverage helped transform a technical risk into a millennial catastrophe narrative. The lead matters because most systems continued operating, yet the fears shaped purchasing, planning, and public memory. Researchers should compare genuine remediation concerns with exaggerated claims and examine how the event was retrospectively labeled either a non-event or a successful prevention.