If you’ve been worried lately that it seems like more and more Americans are being truly awful to one another, you are not alone. A new survey finds 93% of Americans believe we have a civility problem in society, with 68% classifying it as a “major problem.”
So what is causing all this incivility? Well, it seems a lot of Americans blame social media. In fact, 63% of Americans say social media is a major contributor to incivility in America, with most saying social media’s impact is more negative than positive.
As for how bad things are getting, in 2013, Americans claimed an average of 4-point-4 uncivil interactions online each week, and now it’s more like 5-point-5 per week.
And the sad news is many people think things are likely going to get worse. It seems 54% of folks expect the level of civility to go down in the next few years, with 57% of people feeling that the Internet and/or social media is the biggest reason why it will happen.