The Free Fall Of Trust

When Gallup first asked Americans about their trust of newspapers in 1973, 39 percent said they had a great deal of trust in them and by 1979, that number reached a high of 51 percent. In 2016, only 20 percent of Americans said they trust newspapers. Trust in television news has charted much the same course, and it fares only slightly better in 2016, with 21 percent trust.

In a poll we did a while back on this website we asked how you would define trust. Many of you said that it’s hard to believe that someone will actually do what they say they will do. According to most polls virtually every institution has lost public trust, especially Congress and current Presidental candidates. 

Mistrust Is Everywhere

These days, less than one-third of Americans say most people can be trusted. Half felt that way in 1972, when polls first asked the question. A record high of nearly two-thirds say "you can't be too careful" in dealing with people. Americans are suspicious of each other in everyday encounters.

From Israelis and Palestinians, politicians, the News Media, corporations and institutions of every kind to even to telling our kids not to trust strangers, mistrust is everywhere.

Broken Relational Trust
One third of the 40 million people looking for a date online are married, but they don’t put that in their profile. So, it’s understandable that people struggle with who to trust.

“Generally speaking, a loss of trust created by a violation of character (integrity or intent) is far more difficult to restore than a loss of trust created by a violation of competence (capabilities or results).”  Stephen Covey

Lets’ face it we all have trust issues, yet we all want to say, ‘I trust you.’

All of us have been wounded by a lack of trust from an institution or more importantly a person and it’s impacted how we perceive people and our relationships. I’ve told my kids regarding their social world to trust the people who prove they’re trustworthy.

Now, that is reasonable, but what does that look like? What is the basis of trust and how can I develop trust without having a cynical perspective? Especially after having been lied to and hurt as a result? Though it may be difficult, in most cases, lost trust can be restored and often even enhanced.

If you want to increase your relational trust in your life and have more rewarding relationships then there are a few things to consider. Join us for the continuation of this blog series on trust.