There's entire TV channels dedicated to indoctrinating their viewers into a continuous mood of fear and anxiety, probably because it's easier to advertise to people in a febrile state.

I don't either, but that won't stop them from calling the cops.

It seems like kids have to be at least teenagers these days for people to assume they're OK to be out by themselves, and even then, some people are apparently wary before the kids are old enough to drive.

The first recorded use of the word "busybody" was in 1526, per Merriam Webster. Some people just feel like it's their duty to tell the world how to be. I think it's just human nature.