[paxys]

Disagree with the first part. 'Prepping' has evolved into a subculture that is more and more removed from the actual scenario of imminent societal collapse. Even here in Northern California a lot of people engage in prepping/survivalism as a hobby and social group. Very few are the real tinfoil type.

Of course this supports the point even more that the article's premise is idiotic.

Funny enough you won't find many preppers in countries/regions that actually qualify as unstable, because it is very expensive to stockpile food reserves, water, medicine, generators, fuel, gold, valuables, guns, ammo, communication equipment. It is a very "first world" hobby.

[WelcomeShorty]

> people engage in prepping/survivalism as a hobby and social group

Color me guilty! For me it started with cooking, that led to gardening, then hunting. Combine that with camping and here I am, part of a small group of very diverse people who like to spend time with as little modern conveniences as possible, as far away from modern life with the smallest possible food print.

We leave our homes with what we can carry, walk as far as we can, collect food en route and hide as good as we can.

If I would be a classic prepper, I would do this with the most important people in the world: my family, but I do not. It is just for fun and to meet different people and how to take care of each other without outside assistance. Challenging and suitable for everyone since you can do it for as long or short, as far or as close as your means allow you to.

[KronisLV]

A lot of it is actually pretty practical!

Growing your own produce is a pretty good way to keep yourself busy (and i find it relaxing), learn more about plants in general, as well as lets you have a better idea of what actually goes into your meals (vs store bought produce, which might have certain pesticides or other additives).

The same goes for cooking, for which there are also very tangible and immediate financial benefits, when compared to eating out. So much so, that people have organized various communities around the idea of cooking stuff yourself and doing so in an efficient manner, for example: https://www.reddit.com/r/MealPrepSunday/top/?t=month

Hunting also makes you develop more appreciation for having meat in general - personally, after having to drag a carcass from the forest all the way home and to help my dad prepare the meat made me view it as something to have occasionally, not as often as other people might. Of course, learning firearms safety and a thing or two about how to behave in forests is useful as well.

Of course, some people might take it a bit too far - like having a bunker in their basement or stockpiling MREs for years, many of which will simply go bad, but i'd argue that most things, even having your own generator are pretty reasonable in the grand scheme of things, especially in regards to bad weather conditions and inconsistent power supply.

[soco]

All those stockpiles make you in unstable regions probably also a target.