Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) has the lowest interpersonal trust of any generation, with only 13% of teens and young adults believing that most people can be trusted.
▶ LISTEN TO ORLANDO’S MORNING NEWS EXPRESS PODCAST ON WDBO
This is a significant drop from previous years, with a steep decline in trust observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Millennials were slightly less paranoid, with roughly a quarter (24%) agreeing that most people could be trusted and two-thirds (67%) erring on the side of caution, as shown by the polling compiled using data from the General Social Survey between 2021 and 2024.
The Silent Generation was by far the most trusting, with 41% of those surveyed believing most people to be trustworthy, and 51% saying it pays to be careful.
The data, according to the study by political scientist Ryan Burge at Washington University, also shows that those with a college education are more likely to trust others compared to those with a high school diploma or less.
Unless there is a significant increase in trust, Gen Z is on track to become the least trusting generation in modern American history.
Click here to download our free news, weather and traffic app. And click here to subscribe to our daily 3 Big Things newsletter.