"We used to be a lot more trusting of others. Just a couple of generations ago, Americans reported dramatically higher levels of trust in one another and in their institutions. Surveys from the 1950s found that, at that time, roughly three-quarters of people believed the government would "do the right thing most of the time," and about 60 percent said their neighbors were trustworthy. Today, those numbers have fallen to under one-quarter for government trust and closer to one-third for social trust."
"Our lives didn't used to rely on screens for daily communication. We used to know our neighbors personally. Everday life consisted of countless small interactions, not just emails and texts. There is a sense of shared safety that erodes when we can't look another in the eye, hear someone's laugh, or see their emotional expression. And lacking it, we're left feeling wary, on guard, and unsure of whom to trust."
"What Is Trust, Really? As a relationship therapist, I see trust issues as the core of almost all relationship problems. Trust is the felt sense that our well-being matters to another person. When you know, deep down, that what is best for you is fully seen, understood, and prioritized above all else by another person, you trust them. And when you trust them, you give them"
Trust in others and institutions has declined sharply over recent generations, with government trust falling below one-quarter and social trust near one-third, lower among younger adults. Everyday life previously included many face-to-face micro-interactions that created shared safety; reliance on screens has removed those cues, increasing ambiguity in communication and fueling misinterpretation. Ambiguous digital signals heighten vigilance and make people assume worst intentions. Loneliness and isolation amplify threat sensitivity and create fertile ground for suspicion. Trust functions as the felt sense that another prioritizes one's well-being; without it, relationships and social cohesion erode.
Read at Psychology Today
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