June 29, 2009
In the previous post we reviewed the results of an annual Gallup poll that illustrates how America’s trust in its institutions continues to slip over time.
It raises the obvious question, who do we trust?
Mostly each other, it turns out. While Americans may not believe in their institutions as before, they seem to have a high degree of confidence in each other.
There’s been a great deal of research in recent years that illustrates the growing influence of word-of-mouth on consumer decision-making. A recent AARP study, for example, found that the majority of Americans turn to family and friends rather than financial advisors for financial advice during a personal crisis.
A 2006 Pew report addressed the question, What is the Internet doing to the relationships and social capital that Americans have with friends, relatives, neighbors and workmates? It found that 29 percent of American adults report Internet connections have played an important role in helping them deal with at least one major life decision in the past two years. If the study were repeated today, no doubt the total would be even higher.
I suspect that the reason we do not trust our institutions as much as previously is not only that they occasionally have acted in ways that undermine our trust, but also because they are simply less relevant to how we live our daily lives.
One of the strengths of word-of-mouth is its adaptability. We live in a rapidly changing culture of information, one that can seem chaotic at times. Institutions, by their nature, are ponderous in thinking and behavior. We often don’t have time to wait for them to respond even if we wish to do so.
The counsel of family and friends, and even smart strangers, provides constantly refreshed reference points in a way that helps us to quickly organize our thinking and behavior as we adapt to this changing environment.
The value of word-of-mouth, whether in face-to-face or in digital forms, is that it helps us address our immediate needs and concerns in a way that is personal, relevant and timely. Few institutions can even hope to do that.
