Americans are afraid, very afraid.

According to the results of the study, fear plays a larger role in American life than at any time in recent history. new survey from Chapman University. Researchers suggest that Americans are afraid of more things, and they fear those things more than they have in the past.

Is it at the top of your list of fears in 2024? Corrupt government officials, cyber terrorism, and loved ones becoming seriously ill or dying. Other fears include the deployment of world powers. nuclear weapons, terrorist attacksbiological warfare and not having enough money for the future.

Over the past decade, sociologists at Chapman University surveyed more than 1,000 Americans to find out what scares them the most. they ask about them 85 fearRanging from spiders to ghosts to public speaking and tornadoes. The results of the “American Horrors” survey are being released just before Halloween and, this year, just before a Christmas celebration. presidential election.

Overall, the 2024 findings show Americans are “in the grip of a deep, paralyzing fear,” writes Andre Mouchard. Orange County Register.

“This year, all of our top (ten) fears were expressed by more than half of Americans, and many were high across the rest of the survey,” he says Christopher BaderSociologist at Chapman University who worked on the survey expression. “This tells me that Americans are becoming more afraid of everything in general.”

Many of this year’s biggest fears are about war and terrorism. This is no surprise, researchers say, given the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts. As in previous years, the results of the survey reflect current events.

More than 58 percent of survey respondents reported being afraid or very afraid of cyberterrorism (an increase of more than 9 percent from last year), while 52.7 percent were afraid of a terrorist attack. More than half of those surveyed expressed fears about Russia, North Korea and Iran using nuclear weapons. Similarly, a majority of survey respondents also feared biological warfare and America’s involvement in another world war.

Fear of corruption in government is also no surprise; this concern has been at the top of the university’s list every year since 2015. But political fears appear to have worsened further this year, with more than 65 percent of respondents reporting fear of corrupt government officials. More than half of respondents feared the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, and 49.2 percent were concerned about widespread civil unrest. About 41 percent feared widespread voter fraud.

Responses show Americans have ‘deep distrust’ of their government Steve PfaffAnother Chapman University sociologist who participated in the survey said in the statement. “American citizens are worried about their government and fear that powerful or able interests may have undue influence over the government.”

Some of Americans’ fears are fueled by traditional media and social media Companies that use algorithms to deliver content that will interest readers, according to researchers. And what readers are often interested in is bad news.

“The media gives us what we want: something to be afraid of, something scary, something dark,” Bader said. New York TimesMatt Richtel in January. “That’s what will get our attention. Also, we have a huge confirmation bias. “If you’re afraid of Trump or Hunter Biden, you’ll be interested in information that reinforces the fear.”

Still, he added: “If the media is playing on our nature, is it our fault or the media’s fault?”

The study’s leaders also point out that some of our fears are unfounded, or at least not in line with reality. Lorraine Boissoneault wrote that when researchers began the survey in 2014, their goal was in part to see whether Americans’ fears about crime matched the nation’s actual crime rates. Smithsonian magazine In 2017. (This first yearthe greatest fear was “walking alone at night.” These initial results showed almost exactly what the team expected; participants perceived crime as a bigger problem than it actually was.

This year, many Americans reported that they feared being the victim of crimes such as being killed by a stranger (33.3 percent), sexual assault by a stranger (29.5 percent), or kidnapping and kidnapping (27.3 percent). However, the incidence of these and other violent crimes is still in decline. This mismatch could have real-world implications, researchers say.

“We are so focused on serial killers that we devote a lot of resources to the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit,” says Bader, who has a background in criminology. expression. “In comparison, we spend very little money on domestic violence programs, but you are much, much more likely to be a victim of domestic violence than to be the victim of a serial killer. “To me, this is a situation where our fears directly harm us.”

Environmental problems also worry people. Drinking water contamination, global warming/climate change, and plant and animal species extinction fear 52.4 percent, 47.7 percent, and 45.6 percent of Americans, respectively.

What are the Americans? least Are you afraid of 2024? At the bottom of the list, only 8.7 percent of respondents said they were afraid or very afraid of Muslims. There is a survey crawler Anti-Muslim prejudices in the past years, Ed DayThe sociologist at Chapman University who worked on the research said in a 2016 statement that “it must be disturbing.” expression. Despite being low on the list, rights groups warn of a recent incident The rise of Islamophobia It points to events such as October 2023 in the United States kill A 6-year-old Muslim child.

Other low-grade fears were blood (9.3 percent) and ghosts (10.6 percent). Some diseases were also lower on the list. While the idea of ​​a new pandemic or epidemic frightened 41.2 percent of participants, only 20.5 percent said they were afraid of catching Covid-19.