Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future

by Jean M. Twenge

Then there’s the influence of technology on trust in institutions. Social media and the internet in general put individualism on steroids: People can do their own research because there are more places to find information, correct or not. When medical information could only be found in inaccessible textbooks, most people had no choice but to trust their doctors. When information is online and instantly available, everything can be questioned. That has some clear benefits, because patients can become educated and advocate for themselves. However, the downside of too much information from too many sources became obvious very quickly after the vaccines rolled out. “I did my own research” works well when information comes from well-vetted sources, and badly when it doesn’t. But it’s hard for many people to tell the difference between a source they can trust and one they can’t. Don’t like it? It’s fake news. “Fake news” at first meant falsifiable stories posted by questionable websites for mercenary gain, but the phrase eventually lost meaning as it was used to reject anything someone didn’t like. With online news the norm, and trust low, the truth is up for grabs. In a society with a pervasive sense that you can only trust yourself, collective action—even collective agreement on basic facts—is no longer possible.