Members of Generation Z — those between the ages of 12 and 26 — in the United States “generally lack trust in political and societal institutions,” a new study from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation found.
Among the institutions in the survey, Gen Z expressed the lowest level of trust in Congress, the news, the presidency, and large technology companies. Only one in six or fewer reported having “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of trust in each.
Likewise, fewer than one in four in this age group trust the U.S. Supreme Court, the criminal justice system, and the information they find on the internet. “Science” received the highest trust rating at 71 percent.
Opinions differ greatly among older Gen Z members, ages 18 to 26, depending on political affiliation. Republicans (71 percent) are much more likely than Democrats (12 percent) to have a great deal or quite a lot of trust in the police. Republicans are also much more likely to have greater trust in the military than Democrats are (62 percent to 14 percent).
In contrast, Democrats are more likely to trust science (92 percent) than Republicans are (50 percent).
Even so, young Republicans and Democrats are “more politically aligned” in their distrust of Congress, the information they find online, and large tech companies, according to the poll.
The survey found that younger members of Gen Z, ages 12 to 18, are more trusting of institutions than are older members of Gen Z.
“The younger cohort of Gen Z expresses greater confidence in nine institutions, with the widest gaps seen in the military and the police,” the survey report states.
“While 51 percent of younger Gen Z members have a great deal or quite a lot of trust in the military, 30 percent of those aged 18 to 26 say the same. Similarly, 48 percent of younger Gen Z members trust the police, compared with 28 percent of those aged 18 to 26.”
Overall, the survey found that “no institution is trusted by a majority of Gen Z members.”
“Republican and Democratic youth diverge in their confidence in many of these institutions; science is the only institution that a majority of Gen Z Democrats trust, and the police and military are the only institutions that most young Republicans trust,” the survey report states. “These findings are consistent with prior Gallup reports on the erosion of national adults’ trust in most U.S. institutions, a trend that has accelerated in recent years.”
The survey was conducted between April 24 and May 8, 2023, with a sample of 3,114 U.S. children and adults ages 12 to 26.
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