Do Americans fear being attacked by a shark more than anything else? Does public speaking come next? Heck no!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this blog on May 2, 2020 I posted with the title Are sharks now the #1 fear in America? Is public speaking only #2? My answer was no.

 

In an article by David J. Rogers on February 22, 2022 titled Authors: Speak to Large Audiences for Large Fees the ninth paragraph contains a similar unsourced claim that:

 

“….Americans fear being attacked by a shark more than they fear anything else; next, they fear having to make a speech.”

 

But that isn’t true either based on a recent survey. On September 26, 2021 I blogged about how Fear of public speaking was only ranked #54 out of 95 fears in the 2020/2021 Chapman Survey of American Fears. In that post I listed the percent who were Very Afraid + Afraid, as was done in the Chapman press release. I also listed the Fear Scores on a scale from 1 to 4 where 1=Not Afraid, 2=Slightly Afraid, 3=Afraid and 4=Very Afraid. Rearranged by Fear Score, the results are as follows (rankings and percents from the press release are in parentheses), with public speaking ranking #49 [2.023] and sharks #50 [2.010]:  

 

Corrupt government officials: 3.175 (#1, 79.6%)

People I love dying: 2.744 (#2, 58.5%)

A loved one contacting the coronavirus: 2.739 (#3, 58.0%)

People I love becoming seriously ill: 2.732 (#4, 57.3%)

Widespread civil unrest: 2.717 (#5, 56.5%)

A pandemic or a major epidemic: 2.681 (#6, 55.8%)

Economic/financial collapse: 2.681 (#7, 54.8%)

Cyber-terrorism: 2.565 (#8, 51.0%)

Biological warfare: 2.547 (#10, 49.3%)

A terrorist attack: 2.546 (#12 48.8%)

 

Pollution of oceans, rivers, and lakes: 2.542 (#9, 50.8%)

Not having enough money for the future: 2.539 (#14 48.6%)

The US becoming involved in another world war: 2.523 (#15, 48.3%)

Identity theft: 2.476 (#21, 43.8%)

Global warming and climate change: 2.452 (#13, 48.7%)

Government restrictions on firearms and ammunition: 2.443 (#11 48.9%)

Government tracking of personal data: 2.441 (#16, 45.6%)

Government interference with the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine approval: 2.400 (#20, 44.2%)

Iran using nuclear weapons: 2.400 (#22, 43.4%)

A nuclear weapons attack: 2.399 (#27, 42.3%)

 

Corporate tracking of personal data: 2.397 (#17, 44.9%)

North Korea using nuclear weapons: 2.388 (#26, 42.5%)

Pollution of drinking water: 2.375 (#18, 44.6%)

Extinction of plant and animal species: 2.365 (#19, 44.4%)

Government use of drones within the US: 2.355 (#25, 42.7%)

Air pollution: 2.354 (#28, 41.3%)

High medical bills: 2.340 (#24, 42.8%)

Terrorism: 2.331 (#31, 38.7%)

Credit card fraud: 2.331 (#32, 38.5%)

Being hit by a drunk driver: 2.313 (#37, 36.5%)

 

Catching the coronavirus: 2.305 (#34, 38.0%)

Becoming seriously ill: 2.286 (#33, 38.3%)

White supremacists: 2.283 (#23, 43.4%)

Random/mass shooting: 2.281 (#36, 36.7%)

A nuclear accident/meltdown: 2.271 (#30, 38.7%)

The collapse of the electrical grid: 2.269 (#38, 36.1%)

Contacting the coronavirus: 2.201 (#29, 41.0%)

Theft of property: 2.176 (#52, 29.4%)

Break-ins: 2.163 (#47, 31.0%)

Heights: 2.139 (#46, 31.2%)

 

A devastating wildfire: 2.135 (#39, 34.1%)

A devastating drought: 2.135 (#40, 32.9%)

Oil spills: 2.122 (#41, 32.7%)

Dying: 2.072 (#53, 29.3%)

Racial/hate crime: 2.064 (#44, 31.5%)

A devastating earthquake: 2.046 (#43, 32.0%)

Mugging: 2.028 (#61, 27.5%)

A devastating tornado: 2.024 (#48, 31.0%)

Public speaking: 2.023 (#54, 29.0%)

Sharks: 2.010 (#51, 29.5%)

 

Murder by a stranger: 2.009 (#55, 28.9%)

A devastating hurricane: 2.008 (#45, 31.4%)

Right wing extremists: 2.001 (#35, 37.2%)

Gang violence: 1.985 (#58, 28.4%)

Reptiles (snakes, lizards, etc.): 1.980 (#67, 24.7%)

Computers replacing people in the workplace: 1.973 (#62, 27.5%)

A devastating flood: 1.964 (#59, 28.3%)

Police brutality: 1.949 (#50, 30.1%)

Financial fraud (such as a Ponzi scheme, embezzlement, etc.): 1.931 (#63, 26.3%)

Walking alone at night: 1.902 (#73, 22.1%)

 

Sexual assault by a stranger: 1.899 (#60, 27.6%)

A devastating blizzard/winter storm: 1.878 (#66, 25.3%)

Insects/arachnids (spiders, bees, etc.): 1.876 (#70, 22.8%)

Not having enough money to pay my rent or mortgage: 1.867 (#49, 30.7%)

Germs: 1.864 (#75, 21.7%)

Deep lakes and oceans: 1.848 (#68, 24.7%)

Abduction/kidnapping: 1.838 (#65, 25.6%)

Losing your job due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: 1.807 (#64, 26.3%)

Left wing extremists: 1.786 (#56, 28.9%)

Stalking: 1.772 (#69, 23.3%)

 

Murder hornets: 1.768 (#77, 20.1%)

The Proud Boys: 1.756 (#42, 32.3%)

Illegal immigration: 1.746 (#76, 21.5%)

Murder by someone you know: 1.709 (#74, 21.8%)

Small, enclosed spaces: 1.698 (#81, 16.2%)

Sexual assault by someone you know: 1.696 (#71, 22.4%)

Technology that I don’t understand: 1.669 (#82, 15.9%)

Catching influenza (the seasonal flu): 1.657 (#80, 16.7%)

Being unemployed: 1.654 (#57, 28.9%)

A large volcanic eruption: 1.651 (#78, 18.9%)

 

Strangers: 1.621 (#86, 11.4%)

Black Lives Matter (BLM): 1.529 (#83, 14.7%)

Flying: 1.515 (#86, 11.4%)

Antifa: 1.513 (#72, 22.1%)

Needles: 1.474 (#84, 11.9%)

Ghosts: 1.379 (#88, 9.3%)

Blood: 1.354 (#91, 8.7%)

Whites no longer being the majority in the US: 1.350 (#90, 8.7%)

Animals (dogs, rats, etc.): 1.332 (#95, 4.6%)

Zombies: 1.318 (#89, 9.3%)

 

Muslims: 1.269 (#92, 6.8%)

Clowns: 1.220 (#94, 5.6%)

Immigrants: 1.217 (#93, 5.8%)

Being caught in an embarrassing moment on Zoom or video conference: 1.075 (#87, 9.8%)

Not being able to pay off the college debt of myself or a family member: 1.01% (#79, 18.3%)

 

The shark image was adapted from a drawing by Pearson Scott Foresman at Wikimedia Commons.