What pushes your panic button? A new Chapman University survey of fears finds 58 percent of Americans are worried about corruption of government officials, 44.8 percent are either afraid or very afraid of cyberterrorism, and 44.6 percent say they are afraid of corporate tracking of personal information.

Juriah Mosin, ThinkStock
Juriah Mosin, ThinkStock
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Other top answers include fears of terrorist attacks, biological warfare, identity theft, economic collapse, running out of money in the future and credit card fraud.

Here in the Garden State, residents have many other fears as well.

"It's finances, health and distribution of wealth," said one shopper along Route 1 in Mercer County. "These are things that deserve our attention."

Another man said his worries were much more personal.

"It's our own war against each other -- nothing like zombies, but just like, conflict of opinions, you know, just anything," he said.

Family concerns were at the top of the list for Anne, a Lawrence resident.

"My family's well-being, our health, and just having the world be a better place for my kids, and I'm also concerned about the growing culture of violence in the country," she said. "That really scares me."

Worldly fears are also common among New Jerseyans.

"We've gutted our military, and probably China's got enough manufacturing capacity to overwhelm us, so I'd say China," said another shopper, "but having a 15-year-old with unfettered access to the Internet is scary too."

Hamilton resident Joan said she thinks about her job first.

"It's job security, losing my job," she said, while adding, "The economy is the biggest concern, and we have a lot of disease, a lot of famine in the world, and that's -- according to the Bible -- the apocalypse."

One shopper made a face of disgust when he answered the question.

"My biggest concern is the nonfunctioning of our government," he said. "Until these people can get their heads together, I think we're in big trouble."

Julie, a New Jersey college student, has some fears about the future.

"Income, just being comfortable living, is very hard now," she said. "Eating healthy, and health, well-being, and happiness is a major concern for me."

The 2016 election was not off-limits, either.

"Frankly, I'm worried about who’s going to be president of the United States," said Bob from Ewing.

The survey, which sampled the opinions of 1,541 adults from across the United States, also found people were either afraid, or very afraid, of:

  • Gun control
  • Man-made disasters
  • Obamacare
  • Their personal future
  • Pandemics
  • Nuclear attacks
  • Reptiles
  • Civil unrest
  • Tornadoes
  • Global warming

Some respondents also expressed fear of drones, clowns or zombies.

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