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I see it, of course, as part of a broader juvenalization of culture. The fear is the ultimate source, but it expresses itself in many other ways than simply "safe spaces". Unhealthy obsessions with intellectual escapes are also part of it (there's nothing wrong with liking sci-fi or fantasy, but as we see more and more people taking things to extremes, there's more than just hobbies at play - it becomes a pathology).

At the same time, the causes for fear are fewer than in the past. Although North Korea may be threatening a nuclear strike, it doesn't have the capability that the Soviets had back in the 1980s (or, in your case, the capability that the US had ). Despite some headline-grabbing mass shootings murders of all sorts (including by guns) is radically down from 1990 and seems on a trajectory to continue dropping. Even though we see continued war in the Near East there are fewer active conflicts than there were 20 years ago. Technology has made violent robberies less common. Advances in medicine are improving life expectancy even for people who are diagnosed with the worst diseases imaginable. In short, life is getting safer and the quality of life is improving. Why all the fear?