American Fears - 2023
Chapman University Survey of American Fears Wave 9 has come out with their results from 2023. This is a report of Americans who report being afraid or very afraid.
SOME THINGS TO NOTE:
-People are more afraid of public speaking than dying…
-I believe our current state of news media is highly to blame for stoking a lot of these fears. There can be no coincidence that “corrupt government officials” ranks #1 and is higher than “dying” & murder (whether by a stranger or someone you know).
-A huge majority of these items are things that just will not be happening to the average person in their lifetime. And those that are more likely are lower on the list.
-It is interesting to me that people are more afraid of a loved one becoming seriously ill or dying than they are of being sick or dying themselves. Either that says something good about society (that we are caring and have strong love for one another) or something bad about society (we so little care about ourselves anymore that it is so far down on our list of fears).
-It astounds me that the extinction of plants and animals is so much higher of a fear than things that will cause an individual personal bodily harm and pain. Which leads me to think that a huge portion of people would rather be tortured, be in a mass shooting, or die a painful death than let a plant or animal go extinct. Does that make me selfish?
-I did not expect sharks to be higher on the list than more than half of these.
Now onto the list… enjoy:
Corrupt government officials - 60.1%
Economic/financial collapse - 54.7%
Russia using nuclear weapons - 52.5%
The US becoming involved in another world war - 52.3%
People I love becoming seriously ill - 50.6%
People I love dying - 50.4%
Pollution of drinking water - 50.0%
Biological warfare - 49.5%
Cyber-terrorism - 49.3%
Not having enough money for the future - 48.0%
Pollution of oceans, rivers, and lakes - 47.8%
North Korea using nuclear weapons - 47.6%
China spying on the US - 45.7%
Iran using nuclear weapons - 45.3%
Military conflict between the United States and China - 45.3%
A terrorist attack - 45.2%
Corporate tracking of personal data - 45.1%
The collapse of the electric grid - 44.1%
China stealing US technology - 44.1%
Global warming and climate change - 43.6%
Government tracking of personal data - 43.6%
Extinction of plant and animal species - 43.3%
The outcome of the next presidential election - 43.1%
Random/mass shooting - 42.9%
High medical bills - 42.2%
Air pollution - 40.9%
China’s influence abroad reducing US power in the world - 40.7%
Widespread civil unrest - 40.6%
A nuclear accident/meltdown - 40.0%
China’s economy overtaking the US economy - 40.0%
Identify theft - 38.9%
Being hit by a drunk driver - 36.8%
Terrorism - 36.6%
White supremacists - 36.5%
Oil spills - 35.7%
Becoming seriously ill - 35.0%
Credit card fraud - 35.0%
Not having enough money to pay my rent or mortgage - 33.6%
Government restrictions on firearms and ammunitions - 33.5%
heights - 33.2%
A new pandemic or a major epidemic - 33.1%
A devastating drought - 32.8%
Climate change impacting where I live - 32.8%
A devastating natural disaster where I live - 32.3%
Violent overthrow of the US government - 31.9%
Right wing extremists - 31.6%
Computers replacing people in the workforce - 31.6%
Break-ins - 30.4%
Widespread voter fraud - 30.3%
A devastating tornado - 30.1%
Illegal immigration - 30.1%
Sharks - 30.1%
Public speaking - 28.7%
Theft of property - 28.5%
A devastating wildfire - 28.2%
Police brutality - 28.1%
A devastating earthquake - 27.9%
Left wing extremists - 27.6%
A devastating flood - 27.3%
Racial/hate crime - 27.2%
The Proud Boys - 27.1%
Government use of drones within the US - 27.1%
Deep lakes and oceans - 26.6%
A devastating hurricane - 26.5%
Gang violence - 26.5%
Dying - 26.2%
Sexual assault by a stranger - 26.0%
Reptiles (snakes, lizards, etc.) - 25.9%
Murder by a stranger - 25.8%
A devastating blizzard/winter storm - 25.6%
Walking alone at night - 25.4%
Insects/arachnids (spiders, bees, etc.) - 25.3%
Muggings - 25.1%
Being unemployed - 24.9%
Financial fraud (such as a Ponzi scheme, embezzlement, etc.) - 24.9%
Abduction/kidnapping - 21.5%
Small, enclosed spaces - 20.8%
Antifa - 20.3%
Stalking - 20.2%
Sexual assault by someone you know - 19.8%
Murder by someone you know - 17.9%
Catching the coronavirus (COVID-19) - 16.5%
Technology that I don’t understand - 16.5%
Flying - 16.2%
Not being able to pay off the college debt of myself or a family member - 15.8%
A large volcanic eruption - 15.7%
Germs - 15.1%
Strangers - 13.6%
Black Lives Matter (BLM) - 13.4%
Needles - 12.7%
Catching influenza (the seasonal flu) - 12.1%
Whites no longer being the majority in the US - 12.1%
Ghosts - 10.3%
Immigrants - 8.9%
Blood - 7.7%
Muslims - 7.5%
Animals (dogs, rats, etc.) - 6.0%
