‘Time management’, ‘income’, ‘climate change’. What is the biggest threat to your way of life?
From climate change and rising costs to personal struggles and global uncertainty, people around the world see different threats looming over their way of life.
Global South World asked people across three continents what worries them most.
Here’s what they said.
You can share your opinions on our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or X posts.
Bangkok, Thailand
Ayush: “I love to travel, and I feel that as this city becomes more commercial, prices go up because people bring their US dollars and spend them here. So I guess the biggest threat to my way of life is gentrification.”
Ethan: “It’s really hot where we live. That’s my biggest threat.”
Grace: “Probably time management.”
Mahmoud: “I'm not really threatened by major things. I guess the unstable nature of the government of my home country because I come from Bangladesh, so there are a lot of uncertainties there. That could either get us in trouble or make our lives a little harder. But I'm away from all that, so I can't really say I feel threatened in any way.”
Aiden: “I think life is pretty good here in Thailand. I won’t get into the intricacies of Thai politics, but [...] to maintain one's way of life in general, I would highly advocate for democracy to prevail. That's all I'll say.”
Azman: “Personally, I think the only person who could pose a threat to my life is me. No matter what comes my way, if I decide to give up, then my way of life is done. I need to learn to adapt, to change, to find different solutions. There's always something you can do to make your situation better. I think the biggest threat to anyone in their life is themselves.”
Aiya: “Everything. No, I'm just kidding. Basically, maybe the environment around me. But everything is fine, honestly. I’m really thankful and grateful for this life. I’m not really threatened.”
Yuta: “Distractions. I get distracted a lot. Sometimes I’ve gotta stop myself and gather myself and focus on what is important and what isn’t. Our world is full of social media and TikTok reels… all that sh*t. It’s all distractions. You should focus on the main goal, whatever that is.”
Kim: “Income.”
Larry: “To my life directly, none. But if I want to talk about threats to life, to my children and my children's children... the fear that everything’s going the wrong way around the world. We need more freedoms.”
Vince: “I don't think there's one.”
Accra, Ghana
Nancy: “Poverty. We need money to do everything in this era. Waking up to the fact that there will be no money and everything will come to a stop is a threat to my life.”
Shadrach: “Bad governance. It affects every aspect of life. If you don’t have a good government that can come up with policies that improve your life, your life is at risk.”
Joyceline: “Not having money, because money runs the world.”
Ernest: “Let’s make it health. If you don’t have health, there’s nothing you can do. If you wake up and feel dizzy, you can’t complete the daily things you want to do.”
Felix: “Climate change. The sun is scorching too much where I’m standing right now. I’m feeling it. That’s the biggest threat in my life.”
Ansah: “Monetary issues in my work. In 10 years, what will be the future? Will my work be cancelled? There are always new initiatives, new products, new things coming. We’re always trying to adjust to the economy and society.”
Evans: “Sickness. Without good health, you can’t do anything. With positive health, I can do everything I want to do.”
Godwin: “I’m too direct. Maybe someone will get angry and knock me one day [laughs].”
Ruth: “In Ghana, we have good resources: water, forests, minerals. Illegal mining is a threat to our livelihoods when it comes to getting clean water. If it's not managed well, it could reach a point where we no longer have clean water to drink and might even have to import it. It needs to be managed now.”
Samuel: “Losing God. Losing me. When I give up on what I want to do, on my passion. I don't see people as threats, I don't even see my environment as a threat, because you can overcome it. But if you give up, it becomes a problem. So, my greatest threat is about myself, giving up on myself.”
Ebenezer: “Climate change is the biggest threat, not just to my way of life, but to our world currently. We need to mitigate its impact.”
John: “The world is shifting away from divine peace. Caring for one another is now becoming very scarce. Powerful countries are preparing weapons. This is a fear, a greater fear. I fear for my children and the future of the world.”
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Erleyvaldo Bispo: “Probably the climate crisis. It’s a big challenge for young people in Brazil.”
Eduardo Bernardo Gomes: “Violence, that’s worrying.”
Tarcio: “The climate situation. The devastation of nature around the world could impact temperature and climate stability. That threatens human life.”
Victoria Luzia Zago: “Artificial intelligence. Technological progress makes me very scared, especially in the field of law, where everything is becoming automated.”
Brenno: “I think it’s pollution. It really messes up the world. Ice is melting. Pollution can cause harm.”
Maria Clara: “The constant need to produce. To keep producing, producing, producing. Living in that agitation. That’s the biggest threat for me.”
Silvia: “Ecological disasters. If we don’t preserve Mother Nature… We are like ants compared to this force. We need to respect, appreciate, and preserve this great force that is nature.”
Artur: “The biggest threat is the lack of education among the Brazilian people, the lack of respect. There’s no punishment for anything. You need a black belt to live well here.”
Mayara: “Politics, corruption, and violence. It will end everything.”
Anderson: “Pollution. Bad air quality. In 10 or 15 years, we might not even have trees.”
Maria: “Violence is the worst threat for us Brazilians right now.”
Tokyo, Japan
Interviewee 1: “I don't know how to answer this. I think that most of us are not respecting the culture of a lot of people and countries around us.”
Interviewee 2: “Too much caffeine.”
Interviewee 3: “Caffeine and technology.”
Interviewee 4: “Probably carcinogens.”
Interviewee 5: “People are struggling with day-to-day things. AI, climate change… All these problems are interconnected. There's no point in trying to solve climate change or improve the natural aspects of a certain area if the people living there are struggling. All these things need to happen in tandem. We've separated nature from humanity, and that's a bit of a false dichotomy.”
Interviewee 6: “I don't know if there is necessarily a major threat to my way of life. I suppose if a major war were to break out, if there were another major pandemic… But I think my way of life is probably one of the least at risk of all the ways of life on Earth. So I'm not too worried about mine. I'm more concerned about other people.”
Interviewee 7: To my way of life, probably the cost of living crisis and the housing crisis in Australia, especially in the city that I come from. And as someone who doesn't own property, that's pretty bad.”
Interviewee 8: “Greed and self-interest. We need to be working more as a community and be more concerned about how we can uplift the people around us and ensure that we stand against the people at the top who are just trying to preserve their own self-interest.”
Interviewee 9: “People who take things too seriously”.
Interviewee 10: “Street vloggers who record documentaries on the street.”
Interviewee 11: “If they make having fun illegal.”
A Global South World video series
This video is part of Global South World’s series exploring global opinions on pressing issues.
You can share your thoughts on our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or X posts.
In previous videos, we asked:
Is Elon Musk a visionary or a threat?
Are you worried about climate change?
Stay tuned for more perspectives.
