Are some phobias new in the passed 100 years? Phobias such as being a germaphobe seem highly unlikely to have existed thousands of years ago.

Question

Are some phobias new in the passed 100 years? Phobias such as being a germaphobe seem highly unlikely to have existed thousands of years ago.

In: Other

Answer 1

Certainly, fear of ‘something’ doesn’t develop until we have discovered said ‘something’. You can’t be afraid of spiders if you’ve never seen or know about a spider, but once you know a spider exists, you’ll know whether or not you have a fear of them. Similar to the concept that you can’t lose something if you’ve never had it.