BATON ROUGE, La. (BR Proud) — As we inch closer to Halloween, a new report conducted by the team at Your Local Security discovered Louisianans’ biggest fear is: people.
The alarm company publishes an annual report on each state’s most-searched phobia and it appears Louisiana is not alone. This year, anthropophobia (the fear of people), made up 22% of all phobia search volume – making it the most searched fear in the country.
Search volume for anthropophobia increased by five times since 2019 and it reached an ultimate high between April 19th–25th, according to the company’s findings.
Some additional findings:
- Compared to last year, the fear of being alone increased three times. Last year, Tennessee was a lone wolf in searching for the phobia the most, but this year, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri fear it the most instead.
- California, which is home to Los Angeles, a central hub for influencers, was the only state to have the biggest fear of social media. LA alone has 14,000 influencers.
- With 266,119 Coronavirus cases and counting, we can see why locals in Florida fear germs so much. Florida’s sandy white beaches were hotspots this summer—so much so that the state saw a rapid spike in COVID-related hospitalizations on July 9, 2020.
- New York’s most-searched phobia is philophobia: the fear of intimacy. Don’t believe us? The state is ranked fifth in the nation for having the highest share of single adults. If you’re a New York native looking to dive into the dating pool, though, fear not: NY ranks as the second most restaurants per state, giving you lots of solid first date options (you know, once COVID is over).
- People in Massachusetts fear failure the most of anything, yet the state boasts the highest percentage of college graduates in the country. (Talk about incentive to succeed.)
- Hawaii was the only state with acrophobia (fear of heights) as its most-searched fear—and we don’t blame them. Beyond the state’s picturesque waves and screen saver-worthy sunsets, Hawaii has numerous jaw-dropping cliffs and some of the most dangerous hikes in the world.