What’s the psychology of why those billionaires felt the urge to explore the depths of Titanic in what was clearly a doomed submersible controlled by only one button and a knockoff wireless PlayStation controller with Bluetooth connectivity issues.
In psychology, this is called having so much money not knowing what to do with it syndrome. Ok, it’s not actually called that, but this is popularly called affluenza or wealth fatigue.
This term refers to those who have a sense of emptiness, dissatisfaction, or lack of greater purpose, which is experienced by some who have achieved significant wealth and material possessions. It stems from the idea that the pursuit of material wealth as a primary goal in life can lead to disillusionment and a loss of meaning and fulfillment. This causes them to sometimes seek to fulfill their lofty childhood dreams of pursuing those expensive adventures now as adults.
This may be becoming an astronaut for 10 minutes with Jeff Bezos, hiring local sherpas to basically carry them up to the summit of Mt. Everest, racing Ferraris on a Formula 1 racetrack, or now exploring the depths of Titanic, even though their submersible only had one tiny poorly designed window; therefore, they can’t even really see Titanic in-person but mostly just on a computer screen in the sub!
Those who do these risky adventures may tell you it’s for the thrill of the adventure to test their physical and mental limits and to push the limits of humanity, but it seems to also involve what’s called social comparison to possibly brag to their fellow wealthy friends about what they did and can still do in spite of being old and rich.
Wealth fatigue may set in when they suddenly realize that everyone they know and respect can buy everything that they can also buy, so they may think of ways to set themselves apart to subconsciously prove their superiority and stroke their typically large egos, which may result in them rushing into doing these types of risky and expensive adventures.
I really hope they’re all found safe, but many believe their doomed submersible sadly imploded on the way down causing it to be crushed like a soda can where it’s possible their little window gave out or there was a faulty bolt on their removable door.
There are hopeful reports of knocking being heard, but some are skeptical that’s them especially with all the boats and machinery in that area now that could be creating that type of manmade sound. And also, if knockoff wireless PlayStation controllers were so amazing and reliable, why doesn’t Boeing, Airbus, SpaceX, and NASA use them to control their passenger aircraft?!
I think he needed more than one button after all.