Sales of pepper spray and air guns have recently surged in Germany, spiking after the Paris terror attacks in November and again after the sex assaults on around 20 women that occurred on New Year's Eve in Cologne. Is this what's driving people to purchase these scare devices?

When the unthinkable happens, how governments and citizens respond can shape the future of a nation – and reveal a lot about its cultural psychology. After Germany was rocked by four consecutive terror attacks, its response was level-headed, rational, and encouraging of debate.

Pre-apocalyptic ‘prepping’ is an industry valued between $500 million and several billion in the US alone. At the peak of the Ebola outbreak, Amazon US sales of full-body protective suits shot up by 131,000%. Influencing the way we buy, the apps we download and even the holidays we take, is paranoia altering society for good?

Would you rather jet off to the Bahamas next week, or save and go in a years’ time? In an ‘I want it now’ culture, thinking for the future is hard. When two-thirds of boomers retire they won’t have saved enough to maintain their lifestyle. How can brands encourage people to think about tomorrow, today?