Once upon a time, “my doctor” was the only answer a person would give if asked who they trusted when making personal health decisions. And while that still remains the most popular answer, it’s far from the only one—especially when it comes to those ages 18 to 34, or Gen Z and younger millennials, who put almost as much trust in friends, family, and even social media.
People in that age group are also most likely to drop a medical provider or lose trust in one over political differences, according to the eye-opening findings of a new special report from global communications firm Edelman, released on Thursday.
It represents a “transformation” in the way health care is viewed, writes Edelman U.S. health chair and global health co-chair Courtney Gray Haupt in an analysis of the report. “Traditional health authorities are not disappearing, they’re being supplemented,” she says. “Influencers, peers, patients and social creators are now key players in the health narrative.”
Among the key findings about generational beliefs in the Edelman’s Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Health include:
- Doctors aren’t special: 45% of Gen Z and young millennial respondents believe that the average person who has done their own research can know just as much as a doctor—as compared with 38% of those ages 35–54 who believe that and 23% of those 55 and older.
- Politics matter in health care: 47% of those ages 18–34 are likely to drop a medical provider or lose trust in one over political differences—compared with 38% of those ages 35–54 and 22% of those 55 and older.
- Friends and social media are sometimes more trustworthy: In the past 12 months, 45% of those 18–34 have disregarded a provider’s medical guidance in favor of advice from friends or family, while 38% have instead trusted social media—more than twice as many, on each count, as the Gen X/baby boomer group.
- Vaccine skepticism is alive and well: Only 54% of Gen Z and young millennials gave or would give their child all routine vaccinations. That’s compared with 63% of those 35–54 and 69% of those 55 and older.
- Medical credentials aren’t everything: In response to the statement, “People without formal medical degrees or health credentials have a big influence over my health decisions,” 45% of the youngest group agreed, while only 34% of those 35–54 and 22% of those 55 and over agreed.
“We are navigating a generational transition in how health is understood, trusted, and shared,” Haupt notes. “This is not a trend—it’s a structural reorientation. Organizations must recalibrate their approach to reflect a world where trust is local, expertise is diversified, and emotional authenticity is a key currency.”
Speaking directly to health care organizations, she advises that, to lead in this new era, they must “meet all generations, but especially our youth, where they are—on the platforms they use, in the styles they speak and through the voices they already trust. Empathy isn’t just an ethical compass—it’s a business strategy and an imperative for the healthcare community globally.”
Much of the new attitude around this “parallel health ecosystem” for younger generations, believes Edelman CEO Richard Edelman in his own analysis of the findings, has emerged within the context of COVID.
“Nearly seven in 10 young adults report that their lives were disrupted by COVID guidelines, from missing school to working from home,” he says, citing an earlier special report on the impacts of the pandemic. “They feel left behind and discriminated against as a result of the pandemic.”
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It all led, he believes, to what were the main revelations of the report—that young adults have become self-reliant when it comes to medical information, that they put equivalent amounts of trust on various sources for medical advice, and that they are avid sharers of health-related news items, with nearly 60 percent of young people sharing such stories, compared to 24 percent of those 55 and older.
“The clear message to the health care community,” Edelman writes, “is that COVID has changed the game for communicators from inside out to outside in. Specifically, the elites are no longer in control of information, whether public health authorities or scientific institutions. Personal experiences cataloged on social media now carry enough weight to rival the believability of data provided by Government or even health care providers.”
Correcting misinformation and disseminating scientific facts, he concludes, “is the true public health emergency that must be treated with urgency.”
More on Gen Z:
- Gen Z and millennial workers would accept lower salaries in exchange for this one thing from their employers
- Gen Z and millennials are ‘doom-spending’ their way to a life of debt unless they make 4 changes
- Gen Z’s anxiety is spilling into the workplace. Here’s how to effectively manage the ‘anxious generation’
