Why are people behaving so badly these days?

BOSTON — A traveler at Logan Airport recently told Boston 25 News his biggest concern about flying wasn’t COVID-19 or bad weather.

It’s the outrageous way so many people are behaving these days.

Brawls on airplanes, death threats against congressmen, and fights in schools are now all daily occurrences.

When asked about the current state of civility, a woman in Somerville’s Davis Square said, “I feel like I’m walking on eggshells sometimes.”

Navigating the world today can be unsettling, never knowing when a social landmine could be on the horizon.

“When we’re really, really distressed, civility tends to come low on our lists,” said Sarahbeth Golden, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and associate professor at Lasell University in Newton. “I mean we’re seeing widespread distress for a lot of reasons, and so people are kind of at their wit’s end.”

Golden says people are buckling under the cumulative weight of many stress factors. “There’s the constantly changing or unclear messaging from authorities. There are unfamiliar public health measures. There are financial losses. There’s disruption to our social relationships.”

Often the target of this rage is front-facing workers like flight attendants and baristas.

“I think it’s because of the status of those folks in the service industry,” Golden said. “When we’re are collectively distressed and so many things are out of our control, we’re looking for ways to get back in control. For some people that means getting power over people.”

The Greater Hyannis Chamber of Commerce is running a radio spot pleading with customers to show workers some compassion.

Boston 25 News asked some other people in Davis Square what they think is going on.

One man said, “I think a lot of people don’t want to be told what to do, and they’re reacting out in sort of this feeling of their freedom is being inhibited.”

“I think they probably were not the nicest people to begin with,” added a woman.

The woman concerned about walking on eggshells told us, “The political divide plays out in terms of how angry people are made to feel about these different subjects.”

Another potential catalyst for bad behavior could be the reality of the virtual world, according to Christian Williams, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and professor of practice at Assumption University in Worcester.

“It does beg the question about much time we spent in the virtual world over the past couple of years and the tendency for people to feel a lot more confident saying anything they want,” Williams explained.

Now as the busy holiday season kicks into high gear, hope for a more civil future causes its own debate.

“I don’t have a lot faith,” said that man from Davis Square. “I think the genie is out of the bottle.”

Golden countered, “We’re going to get thru this. I mean I am hoping people can stop and remind themselves, and each other, to take a breath and be kind, and assume good intentions.”

So far this year, the Federal Aviation Administration has launched 973 investigations into unruly behavior by passengers.

That compares to 183 last year.

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