A new survey from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has revealed that millennials (aged 16-34 years) are more fearful of not having Wi-fi connectivity than being fearful of snakes. There is a growing trend of modern fears slowly taking over young people's lives.
The survey was conducted as a part of BHF's Face a Fear campaign. The findings showed that 31% of millennials had a fear of their phones running out of battery, while 24% were scared of not having Wi-fi connectivity. In comparison, only 8% and 6% of individuals aged above 55 years had the fear of phone battery dying and lack of Wi-fi connectivity, respectively.
20% of millennials admitted to being afraid of social situations, approximately 3 times more than that of individuals aged >55 years (7%). 29% of millennials said they avoid meeting people out of fear. Other commonly encountered modern fears are fear of sending a text to the wrong person (26%) and having their photo taken from a bad angle (19%). However, a significant proportion of millennials are still plagued by traditional fears, arachnophobia (37%) being the most common. Other traditional fears include fear of heights (24%), bees/wasps (23%) and deep water (20%). This mix of fears could have detrimental effects on the relationships and well-being of millennials.
On a positive note, above four fifth of young individuals with fears are keen on overcoming their fears. The BHF is thus urging individuals to sign up for the Face a Fear campaign, which will help them tackle their fears. Speaking about the campaign, Adrian Adams, Head of the campaign at BHF said: "It’s time the nation’s young people looked fear in eye and said – no more. We are encouraging people to take a small step, or giant leap, in conquering their fears."