Britons ‘Trust Google As Much As Religion’

Google is now regarded as being as trustworthy as religious institutions, according to a new survey of Britons.

The Future of Britain report revealed the search engine and religion are ranked the same when it comes to institutions people trust, behind the NHS and police but ahead of banks and insurance companies.

Some 17% of people said they had the most faith in Google and in religious institutions.

Among the younger generation trust in the search engine is even greater, with 28% of 16 to 24-year-olds saying they find it the most trustworthy, compared to 17% for religious organisations among the age group.

Chris Worrell, insight director of OMD UK, the media agency behind the report, told Sky News Online: “It really reflects people’s interests. People use Google on a daily basis, if not more, and perhaps they are not engaged with religious institutions in the same way they used to be.”

Despite the recent horsemeat scandal, the results showed more people trust supermarkets (19%) than either the search engine or religious organisations.

The health service came out as most trustworthy, at 37%, and politicians the least, at 3%. Only 9% of people said they trusted Facebook, while banks, utility companies and insurance firms also came off badly, at 7%, 6% and 5% respectively.

Mr Worrell said trust levels were low across the board in light of the long economic downturn, with Britons having little faith in many of the major companies and organisations that dominate their lives.

He added that it was not surprising that Google came out more trustworthy than internet rival Facebook due to the fact that the social networking site is newer and people are very aware it needs to make money because of its high profile IPO.

The findings are part of a year-long research project looking at the changing shape of British society in the wake of the economic slump and ongoing changes to the country’s population and demographics. More than 2,000 adults were polled.

Other results highlighted people’s economic fears. Some 96% of those surveyed said they are concerned with the high cost of living, with 40% of people selling their possessions to cope with their finances.

Meanwhile, almost half (46%) of 35 to 44 year-olds believe they will be worse off than their parents.
source: www.skynews.com

Tags: Britons, Google, religion, Trust

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