More East Midland residents are scared of mobiles running out of battery than snakes

More than half of residents in the East Midlands say they would sooner live with clowns than be without phone signal for a month.
More than half of residents in the East Midlands say they would sooner live with clowns than be without phone signal for a month.More than half of residents in the East Midlands say they would sooner live with clowns than be without phone signal for a month.
More than half of residents in the East Midlands say they would sooner live with clowns than be without phone signal for a month.

Modern fears are creeping into people’s lives, leaving them scared stiff, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

The heart research charity has released the statistics to encourage people to sign up to Face a Fear this June and combat their biggest phobia by the end of July.

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The charity found that a fear of spiders (31 per cent) was still the East Midland’s biggest phobia, closely followed by a fear of heights (29 per cent) and being scared of bees and wasps (21 per cent).

However, more modern day phobias are hot on their heels, a fifth of people in the East Midlands are petrified about missing a flight (20 per cent), with phone running out of battery coming in close second (19 per cent), followed by missing a train (14 per cent).

In total, around three fifths (58 per cent) of residents in the East Midlands suffer from at least one modern fear – something the charity describes as a peril of 21st century living.

When it comes to which type of fear people would rather face, residents in the East Midlands are split, with almost half (45.5 per cent) of people preferring to encounter more traditional horrors and the others preferring to brave 21st century fears (54.5 per cent).

When given specific choices:

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A fifth of people (20 per cent) admitted they would rather be locked in a room full of creepy crawlies for an hour than have no likes on their social media posts for an entire year.

Despite spiders being the UK’s biggest fear (28 per cent), around two fifths of people in the East Midlands revealed they would still rather hold a spider for an hour than have no WIFI for a month.

The survey also reveals that UK-wide, modern day fears hold the biggest grip on Millennials (16-24 year-olds) with many saying they have negatively impacted their day-to-day lives. A fifth of young people lost friends (18 per cent) and had a relationship left in tatters (18 per cent) as a result of their modern day phobias, such as a lack of phone battery, no access to WIFI, or sending a text to the wrong person.

It also seems women are more likely to be affected by modern fears across the UK. Women are twice as likely as men to be fearful of their phone running out of battery (26 per cent vs 12 per cent of men) and sending a text to the wrong person (20 per cent vs 9 per cent of men).

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But with almost three quarters (73 per cent) of people in the East Midlands admitting that they want to overcome their fears, the BHF is urging residents to tackle their fears head on this July by signing up to Face a Fear and raising money for vital heart research.

Adrian Adams, Head of Mass Participation at the BHF, said: “Whether snakes and spiders make you squirm or no phone signal and lack of WIFI gives you nightmares – take a small step, or giant leap, to conquering your biggest fear. Whatever the nail-biting experience is, by signing up to Face a Fear, you will be helping to beat heartbreak forever. Each year,11,410 lives in the East Midlands are cut short by heart and circulatory disease, so we urgently need your support to keep more hearts beating.”

Dr Elena Touroni, Clinic Director at The Chelsea Psychology Clinic, added: “These statistics not only highlight that many people in the East Midlands have phobias, but they can have a real impact on your day-to-day lives. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Face a Fear is the perfect way to join thousands of like-minded people for a fantastic cause. The BHF will be there to support you every step of the way and at the end of it, you’ll feel on top of the world.”

Top 10 traditional phobias in the East Midlands:

1. Spiders (31%)

2. Heights (29%)

3. Bees/wasps (21%)

4. Deep water (20%)

4. Social situations (20%)

6. Snakes (16%)

7. Confined spaces (14%)

8. Flying (11%)

8. Vomit (11%)

10. Insects (10%)

Top 10 modern phobias in the East Midlands:

1. Missing a flight (20%)

2. Phone running out of battery (19%)

3. Missing a train (14%)

3. Fear of sending text message to the wrong person (14%)

5. Having no Wi-Fi (13%)

5. Having to queue for too long (13%)

7. Having my photo taken from a bad angle (10%)

7. Fear of leaving the house without makeup (10%)

9. FOMO (fear of missing out) (9%)

10. Fear of staying single (7%)

10. Being ‘cat-fished’ (7%)