There is a therapeutic practice called exposure therapy in which the patient is, you guessed it, exposed to their fear in the hopes of overcoming it. Eventually, your brain becomes numb to the outside source of one’s phobia through prolonged interaction with the culprit.
I don’t know about you, but I’m constantly thinking of the apocalypse. Perhaps it’s from being Very Online. Perhaps it’s because I grew up Catholic. Either way, my mind drifts to the end of the world quite frequently. Unfortunately, none of the scenarios I find myself daydreaming (day-nightmaring?) about are that fun.
Enter The Doomsday Alarm Clock. This free app gives one the option to choose between several terrifyingly plausible end-of-the-world scenarios to wake up to. You can choose from global warming, nuclear war, A.I. gone awry, supervolcanos, and an asteroid strike. From there, to prevent you from going back to sleep – or at least back to sleep peacefully – you can read the facts that outline how, exactly, the end of the world would happen in that specific scenario.
It’s a clever, if not scary, way to supplant reality on a choose-your-own-adventure model. But what’s even more clever is that this app is a fundraising tool for EarthJustice, utilizing our perverse interest in disaster while getting donations from its users.
