This is what you fear most

While the Obama administration famously heaped Russian Federation in along with Ebola and ISIL as the country’s greatest global threats, with top Pentagon generals hysterically characterizing Russian Federation as an “existential threat”, it turns out that as far as ordinary Americans are concerned, Russian Federation doesn’t even appear to be on anyone’s radar.

Number 1 on the list, according to the online survey of more than 1,500 adults, is Corruption of Government Officials, while technology-related concerns ranked #2 (Cyber-terrorism), #3 (Corporate tracking of personal information) and #5 (Government tracking of personal information). Robots seem part of our future, but 23.9% generally fear them, 22.2% are afraid of artificial intelligence, and 28.9% are terrified of the fact that they might be replaced in the future.

Bader cited: “People often fear what they can not control and technology and the future of our economy are two aspects of life that Americans find very unpredictable at the moment”.

One out of five people in our survey responded that they voted for a candidate because they were afraid.

In total, the comprehensive survey, which also collected extensive background information about respondents in order to examine how fears vary by different groups, examined 88 fears from categories ranging from government, crime, the environment, the future, technology, aging, sickness & health, natural & man-made disasters, and personal anxieties. Real creative, guys. Less than 10% of Americans admitted to fearing ghosts, zombies, and clowns, which is either way too many or not enough. New research from Chapman University has shed a few light on Americans’ deepest fears – and the results may shock you (heh).’Tis the season to be spooky, after all. The participants were asked to rate each item based on a scale of 1 (not at all scary) to a 4 (something very scary). Within these parameters are fears about murder, crime, government corruption and personal anxieties. Other behaviors driven by fear are sending kids to private schools and purchasing a home alarm system.

“Overall, the survey showed that half of Americans believe in something paranormal”, Bader said.

What else made the top 10 list of things feared by people in the US today?