Social media survey finds 77% of the public have ‘lost trust’ in UK institutions
A study into the social media conversations conducted by Britons has found a surprising lack of trust amongst the general public in some of the key pillars of UK society.
Amongst the tweets, posts and comments that were monitored by the Meltwater Group, a huge 53% of this online buzz was dedicated to discussion of the economy – with 83% of that expressing mistrust of the UK economy, driven by the behaviour of banks and their notoriously generous pay packages.
The researchers further discerned that a paltry 23% of those sampled had trust in their country as a whole; with key institutions with huge proportions expressing mistrust of the government (78%), and legal system (71%).
The media was the least talked about issue in relation to trust with just 7% of conversations focussing upon it despite the ongoing hacking allegations engulfing News International.
The report’s authors posit that this may be because fewer individuals are reliant upon traditional media to obtain the latest news, turning instead to digital sources.
Niklas de Besche, Executive Director, Meltwater Buzz said: “Considering the turbulent UK economic climate, the UK Government is under increasing pressure to resolve issues in the country. A lack of trust from the public is inevitable in light of recent events with the media, police force and banks.
“Understanding public opinion is key when addressing these matters. More people are going online to voice their opinions and debate on these types of issues, and often information gathered from social media platforms can be overlooked, when in fact it can provide an abundance of insight into the public’s opinion and where current issues lie.”