Confirmation bias, combined with the fact that the media are designed to deliver News (which is by definition when something out of the ordinary happens), combined with the fact that people are less concerned about hazards which they believe they are already guarding against and have some control over (even if they don’t and don’t).
Thus risk of drowning is discounted because “I won’t let that happen to me”, and risk of shark is exaggerated because “it could happen to anyone without warning.” Both of which are misstatements, but that’s the way our reflexes run.
At this level, we’re just apes. We’re a lot more scared of the tiger than of falling out of the tree.
