In the modern era of hyper-connection, it is easy to become too aware of violence, to a degree that is a gross distorting of reality.

This isn’t the first time this phenomenon has been brought up, either; while children in the developed world are in fact safer from the scourge of stranger abduction today than in any time in recorded history, in the United States the fear has been so ratcheted up in the minds of parents that children here have less freedom than ever – parents have been arrested for as innocuous an activity as letting their nine year old child play alone in the park.

Our World in Data decided to take an objective look at the history of this (well, as far as statistics can really be objective, but you get the point). Statistical arguments aside, the data is staggering, and despite the problems of today gives some measure of awareness at how much progress humanity has actually made.

Check out the full presentation at Our World in Data, but here are a few charts to get you started.

Via Our World in Data.