With the spooky season nearing its climax, Americans are as scared as ever – and they are generally afraid of more things, too, according to a new survey.
Corrupt government officials, the US becoming involved in a third world war, and terrorism (cyber or otherwise) are all among the top 10 fears flagged by the study released in the waning stages of the 5 November presidential election – and as Russia and Israel continue warring with Ukraine and Hamas, respectively.
More than half of the US is afraid of those particular global-level concerns – as they are more personal hardships such as seeing loved ones die or become ill and having enough money for the future, which are also in the study’s top 10.
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“This tells me Americans are becoming more afraid in general, about everything,” said a separate statement from Chapman sociology professor and department chairperson Christopher Bader.
Bader said the way people get their information about the world around them is almost certainly playing a role in making them more fearful, whether of the government, nuclear or biological warfare, or deadly illnesses coming for them or those they love.
“Social media and websites target people by showing them things that they are afraid of,” his statement said. “Through algorithms, people are being fed their fears, and we believe that’s increasing people’s overall level of fear.”
Meanwhile, despite warnings of a spike in Islamophobia amid Israel’s war in Gaza, only 8.7% of the Chapman survey’s respondents reported being fearful of Muslims – making that the lowest of the 85 concerns asked about.
Hardly any of the survey’s respondents reported being afraid of immigrants (12.2%) or of American whites no longer being the US’s racial majority (16.2%) despite the racist rhetoric surrounding both topics that has seeped its way into mainstream rightwing politics.
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