What are we missing with the seeming disappearing species and spaces? Progressively, studies have shown that as the ecosystems and species start to disappear, it is also chipping away our capability of preserving what's remaining as we don't understand anymore what we're really losing.
Perhaps, you see it always but you're not just aware that's the reason for all the vanishing. Here comes your neighbor putting pesticides on his lawn instead of dealing with the bees.
Then, you watch this politician on TV voting against the protection of wildlife because he's never witnessed a wolf in the wild.
The best term for these actions, collectively, as indicated in EcoWatch is "the extinction of experience," where both the national and cultural backgrounds weaken and slowly diminish from human's memories and thus, their reality.
In the worst-case scenario, it turns out to be something even more related to "biophobia," the dread of living things, and a full and strong hatred for nature.
Essentially, this is certainly not the fiction of living in an empty and cold dystopia.
Sadly, it is fast turning to be a lifestyle-a way of life for most people in the world, particularly the kids.
Insect Species, Things Disliked by Children
One of the most recent studies was the one conducted in Japan that painted an outstanding representation of this particular issue. Relatively, a survey of over 5,300 students at Tochigi Prefecture tested their opinion and view of the so-called local invertebrates, which specifically include one spider and 14 different insect species.
Consequently, the students gave a common reaction, which, according to the research, was a loud "ew!" as they found the species dislikeable. For these school children, the species can even be possible sources of danger. Having gathered this, it seems that the less the students experience the nature around them, the more negative they field towards it.
Journal Biological Conservation released the result of the said study earlier this year. Masashi Soga, the head of research said, their research stemmed from the observations on the just-held activity for the so-called nature-deficient kids.
Soga said, "Humans innately escape from harmful organisms like the bees," but young kids nowadays, she added, are avoiding even the harmless species like dragonflies and butterflies, to name two.
Parents Showing Fear of Harmless Species
Even though the reactions of the children were somewhat anticipated, this new study indeed contains an unexpected discovery: A lot of the children observed revealed that even their parents displayed disgust or fear of the same species they observed.
In effect, these emotions parents showed were strong enough to overcome any favorable experience the students might have gotten from direct experiences in their environment.
As the research head and his fellow authors of the study wrote, their findings recommend that "there is likely a feedback loop" wherein a rise in individuals who have unfavorable treatments towards nature in a single environment will result in further growth in those with unfavorable treatments towards their surroundings, particularly, nature.
More so, the research team's head said, they firmly believe that increased biophobia is considered a major concern, but it is cannot be seen and this is a threat to worldwide biodiversity.
