That terrifies me. Are you talking all-out anarchy? Nuclear winter? Endless riots?
I'm thinking more in terms of economic chaos: runaway inflation, supply chain disruptions, food shortages, fuel shortages, layoffs, businesses closing.
And of course all this will precipitate an increase in crime.
And as far as rioting goes, we live in a very riot prone culture at the moment (in my opinion rioting is to the 2020s what raving was to the 90s). If anger, indignation, greed, and peer pressure could spark the kind of rioting that we seen in recent years, wait until hunger and deprivation get thrown into the mix.
As far as this goes though:
Quagmire said:
If I were 20 years younger, I'd probably be stockpiling guns, ammo and food, sharpening up my survival skills, and working on an exit plan
You should probably bear in mind that this isn't too far from the way I've always lived anyway (minus the guns) so take it with a grain of salt.
What I would advise people though if anybody asked me:
Start taking up hobbies that can translate into survival skills later: hunting, fishing, gardening, learning how to identify edible plants.
Get in shape, take up self defense as a hobby (or at least take a few classes). Boxing is an excellent choice there because it's great self-defense and excellent exercise.
Buy a few sets of foldable solar panels. They're cheap, and a set that folds up to the size of a small book can keep your devices charged just as well as a wall outlet as long as you have enough sunshine. Would also invest in a few good power Banks.
Try to make a habit of keeping three months worth of food on hand and learn how to purify water in an emergency.
Learn first aid (I think the Red Cross still offers these classes for free). Better yet take a full on EMT course.
Get into camping. Remote camping even better. The main idea there is to get used to roughing it. Also it'll help you familiarize yourself with nearby wilderness areas that could potentially serve as a refuge if you live in an urban environment and ever feel like it might be a good idea to get out in a hurry ( could happen).
Don't be afraid, just be ready.
Live simply, that way you'll have less to give up later.
Pay attention to what's going on in the world. Try and get your news from as varied sources as possible and pay particular attention to sources that cover topics that the American Media tends to ignore (like all the rioting that's going on in the rest of the world at the moment).
We here in the first world, the US in particular,
are still isolated and insulated to some extent from what goes on in the rest of the world, but that just grants us a little distance, not immunity.
