Ten documented reasons people are so angry today!

While healing from my recent illness, I wondered what made so many people angry today. Hence, I began to research some of the wealth of data. Keep in mind this list is not exhaustive, nor is it all-inclusive. They are in no particular order.

While I could have made this much more prolonged and detailed, I decided to limit it to ten documented possible reasons people are so angry, complete with sources:

Economic Inequality

Economic disparities have led to feelings of frustration, alienation, and anger. We see this in businesses, cities, states, and countries daily. According to Payscale, the average CEO pay ratio to general workers was 20 to 1. However, in 2020 that number has risen to 351 to 1. Does not need further explanation.

Source: Wilkinson, R. G., & Pickett, K. (2010). The spirit level: Why greater equality makes societies stronger. Bloomsbury Press.

Social Media & Comparisons

Constantly viewing others’ highlight reels and posts in “X,” Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social media giants can intensify envy, resentment, and anger. The problem is that little validation is provided, so it is difficult to determine if it is accurate or a made-up world. Remember the term “Alternate Facts”? We must be responsible for comparing what we read or see to our values, principles, and common sense before we accept it as fact.

Source: Tandoc Jr, E. C., Ferrucci, P., & Duffy, M. (2015). Facebook use, envy, and depression among college students: Is Facebooking depressing? Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 139–146.

Political Polarization

Increased polarization can lead to feelings of anger towards those with opposing views. While politics have always been saturated with backroom deals, under-table deals, and other unsavory acts, never has it been so divisive as today due to the rapid transmission of facts and falsehoods and so few people unwilling to invest the time to validate the authenticity, logic, or truthfulness of the statement.

Source: Iyengar, S., & Westwood, S. J. (2015). Fear and loathing across party lines: New evidence on group polarization. American Journal of Political Science, 59(3), 690–707.

Mental Health Issues

Depression, anxiety, and mood disorders can manifest as anger. In the United States, we have not yet found a usable, honest, compassionate way to deal with any mental illness. There have been many attempts, but finding adequate funding and competent researchers who care more about the patients, that money seems to block the road at every turn. This is a significant shame for all of us. Mental illness is often treatable if caught by the right therapist or psychiatrist.

Source: Novaco, R. W. (2010). Anger and psychopathology. In International Handbook of Anger (pp. 465–497). Springer.

Rapid Technological Changes

The rapid pace of technological advancement can cause feelings of stress, alienation, and anger. It is so easy to blame the technologies rather than look inside to discover that all the new developments, including Artificial Intelligence, are designed, constructed, and biased by man’s hand. Instead, we want to take it out on the technology, resulting in frustration, anger, hatred, and confusion.

Source: Carstensen, L. L. (2006). The influence of a sense of time on human development. Science, 312(5782), 1913–1915.

Perceived Threats to Identity

When people feel that their identity or group is under threat, this can evoke anger. This is a very subtle issue because it is often only a perception with few facts to support it. Other times it is an outright assault on a person or group intentionally, so differentiating them is critical.

Source: Stephan, W. G., & Stephan, C. W. (2000). An integrated threat theory of prejudice. In Reducing prejudice and discrimination (pp. 23–45). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

Traumatic Events

Experiencing traumatic events can lead to posttraumatic stress, manifesting as anger. It hasn’t been that many years ago that we began to associate this with soldiers returning from combat. However, when we truly understand it, we know that trauma can affect us anytime, anywhere with accidents, nearby shootings, earthquakes, hurricanes, and even situations such as is occurring in Florida right now where Insurance companies are pulling out because of the high cost of damage recovery from storms. While these are also part of stress and burnout below, it can become traumatic because the perception is that there is nowhere to turn for help.

Source: Orth, U., & Wieland, E. (2006). A meta-analysis of anger, hostility, and posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed adults. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 74(4), 698.

Biological Factors

Hormonal imbalances and certain neurological conditions can lead to heightened anger. This source mentions how acts of violence account for an estimated 1.43 million deaths worldwide annually and how individual acts of aggression account for most instances.

Source: Siever, L. J. (2008). Neurobiology of aggression and violence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(4), 429–442.

Perceived Injustice

Perceiving unfair treatment, personally or for one’s group, can trigger anger. Perception can be deadly if you have no underlying facts to support it, so often, this topic grows exponentially based on rumors, falsehoods, and gossip. However, the injustices are often ignored because they are too expensive to confront, too politically charged, too biased by one or both sides of the fence, or just plain indifference. The elephant in the room is indifference because it is so easy to embrace.

Source: Miller, D. T. (2001). Disrespect and the experience of injustice. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 527–553.

Stress and Burnout

High levels of stress or experiencing burnout can increase irritability and anger. Been here, done that. Many people today are unwilling to take a vacation, miss a day of work, or even discuss the topics with family, friends, associates, and leaders because they know they may be seen as weak or incapable of doing the tasks that need to be completed. The culture of many companies must change, as well as the mindset of every employee.

Source: Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 397–422.

Finally, it’s essential to note that while these reasons provide a general overview of causes for anger, individual experiences can vary widely. Personal, cultural, and situational contexts can also influence how anger is experienced and expressed. Remember, individually; we must be the final filter for everything we accept and aspire to. Without validation, strictly opinion is too often driven by our biases and habits. So, We are in charge. If you choose to be angry, then make sure it is a valid reason.