Poll: Gen Z has little trust in the news, Congress and the presidency
Gen Z expressed low trust in Congress, the news, the presidency and large tech companies, according to a new survey from Gallup and Walton Family Foundation.
The results of this poll mirror a broad trend: “erosion of national adults’ trust in most U.S. institutions, a trend that has accelerated in recent years,” Zach Hrynowski and Stephanie Marken wrote for Gallup.
Here’s a look at Gen Z’s trust in institutions, how it compares to other generations and the implications of this trend.
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How much does Gen Z trust institutions?
The survey asked 3,114 members of Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2011) whether they had very little, some, quite a lot or a great deal of trust in institutions like the military, police, the Supreme Court and others.
Among respondents, 50% said they had very little trust in Congress and 46% said they had very little trust in the presidency. Trust in the Supreme Court was higher with 38% of respondents saying they had very little trust, 40% saying they had some trust, 16% saying they had quite a lot of trust and 5% saying they had a great deal of trust.
Gen Z expressed the highest amount of trust in “science,” with 36% saying they had a great deal of trust, 35% saying they had quite a lot of trust, 22% saying they had some trust and 6% saying they had very little trust.
Party lines accounted for some differences, but neither Gen Z Republicans or Democrats had high overall trust in the majority of institutions.
Gen Z Democrats had high trust in science (92%) and relatively high trust in the medical system (43%). Overall, they have low trust in Congress (11%), the Supreme Court (11%) and the presidency (25%).
By contrast, Gen Z Republicans have high trust in police (71%), the military (62%) and science (50%). They have lower trust in the presidency (5%), news media (8%) and large tech companies (12%). Independents have high trust in science (73%) and low trust in Congress (6%), the presidency (7%), news media (10%) and large tech companies (10%).
Do Americans trust institutions?
Americans have record low trust in major institutions. This broad trend crosses party lines, as Republicans and Democrats both express low trust in several institutions.
“All partisan groups are generally less confident in the 16 U.S. institutions than they were a year ago, with average declines of four (percentage) points among Republicans, five points among Democrats and six points among independents,” Jeffrey M. Jones wrote for Gallup. “All three party groups are much less confident in the presidency than they were a year ago, showing declines of at least 10 points.”
Only 7% of U.S. adults across the political spectrum said they had a great deal of trust in Congress, 11% for TV news, 14% for the criminal justice system, 16% for newspapers, 23% for the presidency and 25% for the Supreme Court.
“The confidence crisis extends beyond political institutions at a time when a near record-low 13% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S.,” Jones wrote for Gallup. “Confidence in institutions is unlikely to improve until the economy gets better — but it is unclear if confidence will ever get back to the levels Gallup measured in decades past, even with an improved economy.”
Low trust in institutions is prominent among younger people. “Trust is in our foundational institutions is down among Americans of all ages, but it’s particularly striking among the young,” Braver Angels Director April Lawson wrote last year.
Lawson cited data from Pew Research Center showing how trust in elected officials and government was lower by a few percentage points among younger generations compared to older generations.
Not only has institutional trust reached an all-time low, Americans have declining trust in each other.
Writing about the General Social Survey for The Wall Street Journal, Gerard Baker said, “The proportion of those saying people can be trusted has dropped from about half to less than a third in the past 50 years.”
“There’s evidence to suggest that marital infidelity, academic cheating, and animal cruelty are all on the rise in America,” David Brooks wrote for The Atlantic. “... In the age of disappointment, people are less likely to be surrounded by faithful networks of people they can trust.”
Why have Americans lost trust in institutions?
The loss of trust in institutions may be tied to the performance of the institutions themselves, according to Baker and Lawson.
“Trusted bankers and regulators told Americans in 2008 that the financial system was sound, that their money was safe. When that turned out to be false, ordinary Americans lost their jobs and homes while those who had caused the crisis were bailed out,” Baker wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
After citing other instances where trust may have been eroded, Baker said, “It should come as no surprise that these episodes, coming in a period in which Americans endured slow economic growth, widening inequality and a steep decline in global strategic dominance, have sapped confidence in the nation’s leadership.”
When Lawson assessed why Gen Z may have lost trust in institutions, she wrote, “Some institutions have gone downhill, according to such venerable scholars as Yuval Levin, who argues that the rot in institutions is a function of shifting from being ‘formative’ — organizations that shape the character of their people — to ‘performative.’”
Political polarization may also contribute to diminishing trust in institutions.
“Political discourse has become much more adversarial in recent years, with this fragmentation building more walls than inspiring collective, shared values. People have lost trust in some levels of government, though not all share the same distrust of the same political actors,” Karin Wilkins, dean of the School of Communication at University of Miami, said to Barbara Gutierrez.
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What happens when Americans don’t trust institutions?
Low trust in institutions may have a negative impact on social cohesion and the rise of “closed, rigid ideological systems,” as Brooks put it for The Atlantic.
“When people feel naked and alone, they revert to tribe. Their radius of trust shrinks, and they only trust their own kind,” Brooks wrote.
According to Brooks, institutional decay and lackluster performance of institutions fomented a sense of betrayal among some of the general population. This leads individuals to see institutions “as stages on which they can perform, can display their splendid selves.”
“The result is a world in which institutions not only fail to serve their social function and keep us safe, they also fail to form trustworthy people,” Brooks wrote. He said the rise of the self and individualism makes it difficult to form a cohesive society.
Social cohesion is linked to human flourishing and prosperity as is social capital, which requires institutions to function.
“At its core, social capital is about trust in others and trust in institutions,” Isabel V. Sawhill wrote in a report for Brookings Institution. “... In the end, social capital can be thought of as the network of institutions that form and sustain the character strengths needed to flourish in contemporary society.”
Without institutions like family, government, churches, schools, businesses and other parts of society, it’s difficult for individuals and society to experience emotional well-being and financial success.
“We each have a personal identity and a community identity, but we cannot forget that we are all Americans who, for some purposes, can only flourish if we act together,” Sawhill wrote. “The stronger our social ties, the more likely we will be able to find common ground, respect one another, and have sufficient trust to address the challenges that transcend our differences.”
