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?

A video shot surreptitiously on a smartphone documents an altercation between a bus driver and an irate young woman. Another offers a window into a high school cafeteria, where dozens of girls rip at each other’s hair, screaming like banshees. What is it that makes violence go viral?

According to the world of online dating, coming across as an arse to some can make others love you more. If having haters makes those who like you like you all the more, does the same psychology apply to our relationships with brands? And does it actually pay for a brand to rub part of its audience up the wrong way?

More brands are creating campaigns with highly dangerous activities taking place outside the realm of legality. Is real-life crime the next frontier for advertising? What is its appeal? And how are society and advertising influencing each other?