There’s only one thing annoying Americans more than politics right now

NEW YORK — Is something getting on your last nerve? If you’ve found yourself irritated at outrageous grocery prices, annoying politicians, or someone else’s questionable driving recently, you’re not alone. A new survey asked Americans about all the things that have been grinding their gears over the past few months and found that one in two people are constantly infuriated by the cost of food and essentials right now.

With another polarizing election set for November 2024, it’s no surprise that politicians ranked second on this list of America’s biggest annoyances — 41 percent of the 2,000 people polled said they’re simply exasperated by the current political scene.

The survey from Talker Research asked respondents to pick from a list of common nuisances that irritated them the most over the past 90 days. The TV being too loud (15%), constant chatter about artificial intelligence (14%), the cost of concert tickets and tech billionaires (both 12%) all made the list of things ticking off Americans right now.

Reality TV was also on the list of most recent irritations (14%), while problems with parking (10%) continue to be an age-old pet peeve for drivers. It turns out that even Hollywood is upsetting moviegoers, as nine percent say recent movies have been “too dark.”

So, is there anything out there to be positive about? Surprisingly, plenty of people are still looking at the bright side of life. Although there will always be everyday annoyances, the poll found Americans’ overall outlook is still healthy when it comes to positivity.

In fact, one in five (18%) said their mood has generally gotten much more positive the older they get, and another 26 percent said they’ve been somewhat more positive overall as time goes by. Just five percent rated themselves as getting much more negative with age, though 19 percent felt that their negativity has been inching up slightly as they’ve gotten older.

Of those who did notice themselves feeling more negative, the survey found that age 42 is the typical point where we start to feel the onset of grumpiness. One in three people, however, couldn’t tell either way if they were getting more positive or negative the older they got.

Things That Have Annoyed Americans In Recent Months

1. Grocery prices – 47%
2. Politicians – 41%
3. Someone else’s driving/driving habits – 29%
4. Crowds – 23%
5. Weather – 21%
6. Customer service – 19%
7. Social media trends – 17%
8. Tipping culture – 16%
9. Music you don’t like – 15%
10. TV volume being too loud – 15%
11. Ticket prices (concerts/events) – 14%
12. Products locked behind plastic on the shelves – 14%
13. Artificial Intelligence – 14%
14. Reality TV – 14%
15. Self-checkouts – 13%
16. Computer issues – 13%
17. Tech billionaires – 12%
18. Parking – 10%
19. Movies being too dark – 9%
20. Text language/abbreviations – 8%

Survey methodology:

This random double-opt-in survey was conducted by market research company Talker Research, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR). Data was collected from April 3 to April 8, 2024. The margin of error is +/- 2.2 points with 95 percent confidence.