Are you afraid?

chic

chic

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In my lifetime, I've eaten food that's fallen on the floor, rode 100 mph in a car, ( I was not driving), taken a bite out of something after someone else, and worn public bowling shoes from the bowling alley, and many other questionable things. Back when I did these things, it was not considered reckless. It was just normal. Are people becoming more frightened? It seems like they are. :unsure:
 

In humans and other animals, fear is modulated by the process of cognition and learning. Thus, fear is judged as rational or appropriate and irrational or inappropriate. An irrational fear is called a phobia.

As a child I was fearless, although watching scary films and TV shows would spook me. As an adult I'm able to perceive the dangers more clearly and wouldn't take the risks that I did as a child, whether that is fear or caution is open to conjecture.

One fear that I have, and it's completely irrational, is the fear of flying.
 
chic said:
In my lifetime, I've eaten food that's fallen on the floor, rode 100 mph in a car, ( I was not driving), taken a bite out of something after someone else, and worn public bowling shoes from the bowling alley, and many other questionable things. Back when I did these things, it was not considered reckless. It was just normal. Are people becoming more frightened? It seems like they are. :unsure:
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I agree, people generally have become much more fearful... nicknamed 'snowflakes' .... we were fearless as children as just about all children naturally are, but today's parents are instilling fear into their kids...and those kids are growing into fearful adults who are also the same adults who take offence at the slightest thing...
 

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All the things that you mention Chic and many similar things
that we all did when young, helped to build our immune
system and teach it different bad things to look out for, so we
stayed well and there were not many surprises to our health.

Today most people live in hermetically sealed, air-conditioned
homes, where the crockery is sterilised every time it is washed
in a dishwasher, plus children are rarely allowed outside to play.

Today's way of living is causing fear and illnesses, plus allergies,
none of which we as children ever experienced, we did have bad
things that we could catch, like mumps, polio, tuberculosis, plus
many other things, but these were rare and they are not common
today.

But parents are afraid for their children and this is noted by their
offspring.

So yes, the current generations are afraid of life and only happy
at home when all are together behind locked doors.

I am not afraid.

Mike.
 
Actually many childhood illnesses we quite common, and they were almost a 'rite of passage' for us. Does anyone remember the 'rubella parties' where if a young girl caught German measles, she would get together with her friends so that they could all catch it. A good move, because they then became immune and it could have severe consequences if caught later in life. You'r quite right, Mike. We're too 'clean' these days and have little chance to build up immunity to whatever bug is doing the rounds,

Doubtless some people are more afraid for no real reason except that the media tells us to be. However, as we get older we can understand what consequences our actions may have - but this is caution rather than fear.
 
Contingencies now exist that were unheard of during our childhood. When I was a child, bad blood between kids could have ended up in a fistfight whereas now guns might be pulled. Hard-core kids in my day smoked and hung out by the railroad tracks; today they do hard drugs. We routinely had “duck-and-cover” drills out of fear that the Soviets were going to bomb us; today, there are “active shooter” drills in schools. Times change, and fears along with them…
 
I think we all tend to be afraid of things that we don’t understand or are unfamiliar with.

My grandparents grew up and lived with fire. They didn’t fear it but they did have respect for it and what it could do.

It’s the same with our handling of food today compared to the days before refrigeration or our idea of cleanliness today compared to the days before indoor plumbing.

It seems that we are also much more concerned about nature and the weather than previous generations. My grandparents accepted the fact that when it rains you get wet.

I’m not afraid but age has made me cautious.
 
horseless carriage said:
In humans and other animals, fear is modulated by the process of cognition and learning. Thus, fear is judged as rational or appropriate and irrational or inappropriate. An irrational fear is called a phobia.

As a child I was fearless, although watching scary films and TV shows would spook me. As an adult I'm able to perceive the dangers more clearly and wouldn't take the risks that I did as a child, whether that is fear or caution is open to conjecture.

One fear that I have, and it's completely irrational, is the fear of flying.
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I don't think fear of flying is completely irrational. Flying is considered safe but when you consider the consequences when something goes wrong...no, not irrational at all.
 
That I’m still alive to post this response has more to do with luck than prudence, because when I was young I felt bulletproof and routinely did reckless things with disregard for their consequences.

The realization that there are more years behind me than ahead of me has raised my awareness of my own mortality. There’s a difference between fear and caution, and though I’m not particularly fearful I’ve become risk averse as I’ve lived life.
 
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There are 3 boys, either from my neighborhood or in my neighborhood who prey on the old. Last week, in 3 separate incidents, old folks were approached and one of the boys would punch the person in the face so hard that in each case facial bones were broken & they were left all black & blue & traumatized too.

I'm always conscious of my surroundings, but I couldn't exactly run away. Trying not to think too much about it, as I'm not in control of this. So far, boys not caught, and no more incidents so far.
 
Now me, I have an irrational fear of electricity - if a lightbulb needs replacing, I absolutely have to unplug the lamp first. No rational reason to explain this fear, but it does, indeed, exist.

I was at a coffee-klatch awhile back. where the conversation took a similar turn. One gal postulated that our fears and phobias might be explained by how we met our end in a previous circuit.

If you fear heights, you might have fallen to your death. If snakes or spiders send you scurrying, you may have died from a venomous bite. If lighting has you ducking for cover, it could have been a strike that did you in.

I sometimes think back on this theory and wonder to it's validity. I believe that there's some things that are hardwired into our DNA that are inexplicable. Think about the generations of Monarchs that know to migrate.

And as my grandma always was wont to preach, 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.'
 

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