I worked in IT during the Y2K bug hysteria and it was amazing how the media whipped up the general hysteria about its likely effects, planes falling out of sky and nuclear plants exploding. The IT industry was happy to comment and make suggestions that people get their systems inspected(?), Microsoft went as far as rebranding NT as 2000 to future proof business computers. On a retail level, smaller shops ringing customers and telling them that there 18 month old home PC is not "certified Y2K safe" and needs replacing.
Its very hard for uninformed people to resist this sort of pressure (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) when the media gets behind one side of a story