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A Look Back at the Y2K Bug The much-feared switch from the year 1999 to 2000 has come and gone uneventfully. The fears of a Y2K collapse were unsubstantiated as the change in the calendars occurred peacefully without any major glitches around the world. The inconsequential turning of the calendar has left questions in its wake. Was the Y2K problem just hype, or was it averted because of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on overcoming the bug? Most media seem to regret the fact that nothing actually happened. There is a tone of hidden disappointment in the newscasters’ voice when they report that nothing happened when the clock struck midnight. We did not want, nor did we expect, a global meltdown where all the service industries collapse. However, we were expecting a few power outages, some computer errors, but the transition went just like any other New Year. For all the fears that were expressed, for all the images of people stockpiling months of food and water at least some minor problem should have arisen. The uneventful switch made us feel like the cavemen felt when the world was still there after an eclipse. The millennium celebrations were punctuated not by the bash at the pyramids or the fireworks at the Eiffel tower, but by no serious problem occurring anywhere in the world. This was a result of hype. If there had not been such great worry about how the computers would react to the change in date, we would not have paid much attention to the fact that the switch from 1999 to 2000 was uneventful. However, the Y2K bug was given priority over the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight, president Yelstin resigning from his post and several other important events. There is also no surprise on the extreme reaction of all the people, especially in the US. This is a country driven by hype. Take the release of Star Wars this summer. There were people waiting in line for days, just to be the first one to see the movie. Then there was Harry Potter. People waited in line for hours just to get the author’s signature (my younger brother being one of them). It was no surprise then, the commotion Y2K created when so much attention was showered upon it by the media. Every newspaper had a Y2K countdown with a story each day relating to the bug. Most of the stories were stories in which companies were assuring the public that nothing would or could go wrong. However, so much attention being focused on any one topic sets off alarm bells. So much attention aroused suspicion in the public that grew with every story about the topic. The best comparison I can think of is saying, "I didn’t do it" to your parents before they discover that something is amiss. By saying this you turned their heads in the direction of the problem. As a result of this attention, people all over were preparing for the world to end. Media coverage of Y2K followed a procedure in which the first things mentioned were the things that could go wrong. Next came the solutions to those problems, followed by what was actually likely to happen. The saying is, "the first impression, is the last impression" and one can guess what image this type of coverage left in our mind. This order of coverage was also repetitive, suggesting that there was not much to be reported. Every station reported the same thing at least 5 times using different titles and sentences. The material was not unique to each station either, CNN would say the same thing (again, using different words) as FOX and FOX the same thing as NBC… However, the public never realized this, the longer the specials dragged on, the more concerned they became. Now, after examining what the channels said it is obvious to see that there was a dearth of different information to report, and whatever they did report only helped fuel the hype. There is another reason that might suggest that this was all just hype. For example, a Chicago Tribune story today said that a corporation based in Deerfield, IL spent $120 million of fixing the Y2K bug in its system. However, Dixmoor, IL, a cash-strapped village, spent only $100 on the Y2K bug. The startling fact is that both of them got through Y2K with the same result. A worldwide comparison can be observed if we compare the amount of time and money spent by the US to China, where serious work on correcting the Y2K problem only started this year. Both the nuclear powers had no problems to report with their arsenals. Even Russia, who also started serious work on the problem only this year, had no problems to report. I wonder that of the billions of dollars spent here in the USA how much was spent on fanning panic and hype. It is amazing how Y2K shocked us so much. After watching every place in the world cross that line from 1999 to 2000, instead of feeling jubilant, the media seems to feel disappointed. This disappointment is exactly what hype can do when what is hyped about is not what is real. Date posted: January 02, 1999. What do you think
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