Why are so many people arachnophobic?

[Tol'Satha 163]

I've been reading a bit about phobias, and it turns out that Arachnophobia is the most common one. I knew lots of people were afraid of spiders, but i was still confused by the numbers. According to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia....i/Arachnophobia), 50% of women and 10% of men (leading to around 1/3 of the population) is arachnophobic. I personally love them so It really makes no sense to me that out of all the scary and dangerous things in this world, the most widespread fear is that of a usefull, non-agressive, tiny, harmless creature.

 

How can someone be afraid or disgusted by these cute eyes: (spoiler for arachnophobes)

 

 

 

 

I've googled and googled, and all i find are speculations and theories, but nobody seems to know exactly why so many people are arachnophobic.

What is your opinion on this? Why is this such a massive phobia?

[Flying Whales 311]

Haha I should have heeded your warning, that picture pretty much killed me. If I had to guess I would say it taps into some primitive fear, which was useful for when we as humans were living in caves and were nomads.

[ParsoOfEquestria 1,490]

the reason I'm afraid of spiders, i got bitten by one around when i was eleven, paralysed for a month, ever since then i cant be in the same room as them or i'll freak out something shocking

[TheFabulousPony 102]

I hate spiders so much Q.Q I don't care if they are outside or what ever... But if they come inside into my room.... It's war. All out. War.

[Tol'Satha 163]

the reason I'm afraid of spiders, i got bitten by one around when i was eleven, paralysed for a month, ever since then i cant be in the same room as them or i'll freak out something shocking

 

Well thats preety understandble. Fears often emerge after any traumatic, or in general, negative experience. I got bit by a dog when i was young, and was really afraid of them for a long time, but managed to get over it, and now i even have one as a pet!

 

And even though there are many dangerous spiders in the world, the large majority of them are completely harmless and not poisonous at all. The fear against those makes no sense to me at all.

Edited August 26, 2012 by Tol'Satha

[Modphase 1,271]

Cause they are jet black (with an exception of a few) small things with eight spindly legs crawling in a weird fashion, that move at surprisingly fast speeds and can climb on walls and ceilings. And they can bite you, and some are deadly. That's why they're scary.

[Kazuki Fuse 534]

 

They are horrifying little buggers, yet I find myself fascinated with them and will watch videos about them just to torture myself.

[Tol'Satha 163]

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcR9af_akCw

 

They are horrifying little buggers, yet I find myself fascinated with them and will watch videos about them just to torture myself.

 

I loled when he said "Just look at that fucking thing", but i dont find them disgusting at all. I remember seeing a video with a kid breaking the world record for being in a bathtub for x time with a shitload of spiders, and i just thought to myself "whats the big deal, i could do that..."

[ParsoOfEquestria 1,490]

I loled when he said "Just look at that fucking thing", but i dont find them disgusting at all. I remember seeing a video with a kid breaking the world record for being in a bathtub for x time with a shitload of spiders, and i just thought to myself "whats the big deal, i could do that..."

 

ugh its starting to make me shake at the thought of that :s so many spiders, so little sanity level

[Jammo 986]

Spiders are fine.

I hate beetles. They are icky.

Heck spider webs are freakier than actual spiders.

Beetles are just big ugly grotesque lumps.

When a spiders on me, I brush it off.

If a big, thumbnail-sized brown shelled beetle starts hulking across my arm. ew.

[Arrow 236]

It's not just spiders, I can't stand any type of bug... They are just creepy and disgusting.

 

how misty hates caterpie is a mystery though

[Charming Knight 56]

i dont hate spiders i just hate that feeling of them on you like i try and not bother them but they come bother me bite me that SPIDER IS DEAD he is gettin a heavy dosage of fire lol i think its just the 8 legs that really do creep people out i mean 2 legs is common 4 for animals but anything with any more well thats just really really creepy! and the feeling of them walking on you dear god just felt a cold chill go down my back thats the worst id rather have to face a pit of snakes then spiders and i hate snakes....

[Spring Storm 276]

I personally like spiders. They're very useful, killing things such as mosquitos that can carry diseases.

 

I wonder why wasps aren't more feared than spiders - wasps terrify me.

[Valureon 93]

You want to know the reason so many people are afraid of spiders? ...... Its because they are horrifying, creepy and downright hidious little buggers.....

But yeah... creepy little.... ahhh.... starting to think about them and its making me uncomfortable

[Mushy Giant Friend 206]

'Cause those things are hairy, scary, and something else that rhymes.

Speaking of which, SpiderJack!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5jKuYOotsA

[Pegasistersincethe80s 126]

Awwww, Misunderstood Spider! I had a Black Widow that built a web between my air unit and building, I left her alone.

 

This topic made me think of this:

 

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/03/spiders-are-scary-its-okay-to-be-afraid.html

[Valureon 93]

'Cause those things are hairy, scary, and something else that rhymes.

Speaking of which, SpiderJack!

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5jKuYOotsA

 

That.... right there.... is one of the weirdest things I have ever seen.... I.... errrr.... dont know how to react.... Im really not sure whether I should find that ammusing or horrifying.... just.... what was that.... like really?....

[Bendy 1,821]

It's because their are some types of spiders that can kill you with their poison such as the Black Widow. Either by being in your shoe to bite you on the foot, or sneaking into your bed while your sleep to bite and kill you.

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

I'm alright with spiders as long as they stay outside where they belong. Once they come inside my room, someone is going to get killed.

[Envy 6,169]

I personally love them so It really makes no sense to me that out of all the scary and dangerous things in this world, the most widespread fear is that of a usefull, non-agressive, tiny, harmless creature.

Spiders... Harmless? What spiders are you thinking of? There are plenty of poisonous spiders, like fiddle backs and brown spiders. They are very dangerous.

 

And that's the thing, phobias are not rational. A lot of people are scared of bugs and bug-like creatures altogether. Myself included. Moths are the worst for me, even though they are harmless. It's a phobia.

[Viscra Maelstrom 3,718]

i think there are several reasons why spiders invoke so much fear into people.

 

first off, their general shape. the way their body is shaped is enough to give people goosebumps. it's just so unique looking, yet invokes so much fear into people. they have a body that's shaped in two, kinda, are pretty much always hairy (hairy insects is pretty creepy in general, from what i can get), the way their legs stick out, how said legs move distills fear into most people, their several amount of large, globey eyes... not to mention there's a lot of spiders that are pretty goddang HUGE.

 

secondly, there are dangerous, poisonous spiders. people don't like being around creatures that has the ability to kill you in a matter of minutes should you do something wrong towards them. you wouldn't want to be around anything like that for a long time, would you?

 

thirdly, while the webs they spin are pretty magnificent looking in a way, people get afraid of them because they know a spider must inhabit the web, as well as the web's form itself can be considered scary to them.

 

lastly, movies. movies over-dramatize spiders as being bad bad BAD creatures, and that they are dangerous and you should never come in contact with them because they'll hurt you, and so on.

[One 498]

Now I have no reason to be afraid of a spider unless if it can kill me, it should be afraid of me tho because I can also kill it. I would almost never hurt a spider because of this video that I found in a "Ctr+V" thread (not on this forum)

Here it is:

[Tol'Satha 163]

Spiders... Harmless? What spiders are you thinking of? There are plenty of poisonous spiders, like fiddle backs and brown spiders. They are very dangerous.

 

And that's the thing, phobias are not rational. A lot of people are scared of bugs and bug-like creatures altogether. Myself included. Moths are the worst for me, even though they are harmless. It's a phobia.

 

Most domestic spiders are harmless, but i guess this depends on where you live. Here in Croatia there are no poisonous spiders at all as far as i know. In Australia, anything that moves can probably kill you in a few minutes.

There are poisonous spiders, but MOST are harmless.

[CapnKrunk 307]

I dont see why so many people are afraid of spiders.I caught a black widow in my backyard,and kept it in my room for a few days. Spiders dont bite you.If you leave them alone.

[Evil Lemon 9]

I won't kill a spider or any bug if I see it outside but if any sort of bug makes its way into my house I'll tear it apart. I don't like bugs and will kill them the moment I see them craw into my home.