TWO-THIRDS OF PUBLIC BELIEVE AMERICAN SOCIETY IS UNCIVIL; EVEN LARGER MAJORITY THINK BEHAVIORAL PROBLEM WORSENING
June 22, 2010
NEW YORK, June 22, 2010 – Two-out-of-three Americans consider a general lack of civility to be a major problem for the nation and 72 percent think that poor behavior has gotten worse in recent years, according to a new poll released today by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate in partnership with KRC Research.
While the American people believe their friends, family and places of worship are bucking the trend toward incivility, a majority of the public sees uncivil behavior throughout society – especially in politics and high schools; on talk radio and our nation's highways; in Hollywood and professional sports.
Three-out-of-four Americans believe the financial crisis and recession have lessened the level of civility in American life. The online survey conducted by KRC Research in April asked more than 1,000 Americans how civility affects people's views of and participation in social media, politics, media and buying behaviors. The executive summary is available here: http://tinyurl.com/2akftdr.
Seventy-two percent of Americans view the political world and government as uncivil – the highest percentage recorded in the poll – and the absence of civility appears to be having an impact on participation and interest in the political process among broad swaths of the public.
Nearly half the American people (49%) are tuning out government and politics, and almost two-thirds of those people (63%) cite the general tone and level of civility as a major factor in their decision. Forty-six percent of the people are tuning out opinion pieces and editorials in the media, and 45 percent cite incivility as a major factor. Thirty-eight percent are tuning out news coverage and reporting and half of them (50%) attribute their actions to the lack of civility.
Each major political party gives the other low marks on civility. Seventy-one percent of Democrats view Republicans as uncivil, and 74 percent of Republicans view Democrats as uncivil. Political independents regard Congressional Republicans more uncivil than Congressional Democrats, although they rate both parties more uncivil than civil (58 and 50 percent, respectively).
"Our research provides hard evidence that constituents and consumers alike are fed up with the polarization of our political system and the uncivil tone of our country as a whole," said Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick. "As a result, Americans are tuning out and turning away from news, information and informed opinions that make up the very foundation of American democracy."
With regard to social media, the survey found that blogs are considered more uncivil than social networking sites and Twitter. Pam Jenkins, President of Powell Tate, said: "This finding about the perception of prevalent blog incivility could be the result of the large number of political blogs that are often referenced by the mass media."
There is a high cost to rudeness and inconsiderate behavior. Three-quarters of Americans believe that companies that exhibit uncivil behavior should be boycotted. Based on personal experiences of incivility, one half or more of Americans have refrained from buying a company's products (56%), reevaluated their opinions of a company (55%) or advised friends and family against purchasing their products (49%).
Although the American people pointed fingers at many segments of society for engaging in uncivil behavior, they strongly believe that everyone is responsible for improving such behavior. Asked who is responsible for improving civility, 87 percent answered "the American public"; 83 percent said political leaders; and 81, 79 and 76 percent cited the news media, businesses and places of worship, respectively.
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