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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Most Googled phobia of 2020: 'Fear of other people'

Most Googled phobia of 2020: 'Fear of other people'

Published Feb 28, 2021 03:43 pm

The most Googled phobia of 2020 is "Anthropophobia" or the fear of other people, according to a study. Researchers have attributed the result to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN)

In a survey published by American security company ADT, "Anthropophobia" accounted for 22 percent of all phobias that people searched for online, a five-fold increase over 2019.

Searches for the term peaked between April 19 to 25, 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis raged globally and many people were forced to stay at home or undergo quarantines.

Also among the most-searched fears were "nomophobia" or the fear of having no mobile phone, "autophobia" or the fear of being alone, and "germaphobia" or the fear of germs.

To come up with the results, researchers analyzed Google Trends data over the past 10 months.

American Psychiatric Association defined phobia as an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In most cases, phobia involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm.

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