Düsseldorf, May, 13th 2025: Media, associations and the advertising industry launch the ‘Project Zuversicht’ initiative / People want to become self-effective members of society again / New study results available

Germany needs more confidence. The current situation is characterised by a profound loss of trust in many institutions of society – above all in politics and the media. This has led to a lack of positive community experiences, which in turn has resulted in a loss of self-efficacy and confidence. This is shown by the representative study based on depth psychology conducted by Initiative 18, #UseTheNews and the market research agency rheingold salon, which was presented today in Düsseldorf. In it, the majority of respondents complain about a lack of self-efficacy and express scepticism about the future. At the same time, people long for more community and collectively pursued goals. The three initiators see the study as the start of a ‘confidence project’ in which the media, business and politics can win people back to optimism, a spirit of optimism and social cohesion. Initial projects in the three areas have already been launched. The study was made possible by renowned associations (GWA, Die Media-Agenturen, OWM, Westfälisch-Lippischer Landwirtschaftsverband), advertising companies (Dr. Oetker, REWE) and media companies & marketers (ARD MEDIA, Funke Medien Gruppe, Hubert Burda Media, Prisma Verlag, ProSiebenSat.1 Media, RMS Radio Marketing Service, RTL Deutschland and Weischer Media).

The key findings of the study in detail:

Status quo

• People in Germany take a pessimistic view of their country. Their lack of confidence in the overall outlook is striking. 78 percent agree with the statement: ‘We are driving the country into the ground if we continue as we are.’ 67 percent feel abandoned by the system and politicians. The overall economic and political situation is rated poorly.

• The poor assessment of the overall situation and the loss of trust in community institutions are leading to a retreat into the personal family environment. People are trying to make the best of things here. The majority of those interviewed (85%) say that they and their families are basically doing well. This results in a peculiar phenomenon: a positive personal outlook is accompanied by pessimism and a lack of confidence in the country.

• Gen Z's views on Germany are similarly critical, but always slightly more positive than those of older people.

• Left to their own devices, the majority of people lose their sense of self-efficacy. Only 10 percent believe they can make a difference. 50 percent do not believe this.

• #People who have found some form of meaningful community are happy about it and can develop confidence. They report a sense of cohesion in their local clubs, theatre groups, voluntary work and much more.

Desire for change

• Through community, people can (re)gain their sense of effectiveness. 82 percent would be more confident if society united against the major threats of our time.

• 77 percent would be more confident if they could at least make a difference on a small scale. 65 percent would tend to be more confident if they felt they could change something big. Just as many would prefer to realise projects together with other people. At least 45 percent would also like to make a difference politically.

• Community is best built locally, which helps to reduce social division. This highlights the relevance of regional media.

• Serious mutual listening is seen as a key measure for increasing confidence. To achieve this, spaces must be created and people must be ‘trained’ to listen.

• The media is called upon to be more transparent and less alarmist. Two-thirds say they tend to be more confident when the media does not always report everything in such a negative light. The media is very important to people: 84 percent say that democracy would not work without independent media.

From study to action: setting a movement in motion

The initiators are sharing specific conclusions from the study with relevant stakeholders, such as the recommendation to the media to engage in more ‘listening’, constructive and locally supportive journalism in order to empower people at the grassroots level. The core findings of the study also give rise to a concrete task. The idea is to give young professionals and committed representatives from the creative industries, journalism and politics the task of developing concepts in formats such as hackathons or barcamps that can restore the sense of community and effectiveness that people long for. All three working groups will start with a uniform task design. The ideas developed will then flow into a kind of meta-camp, where these three groups will come together and discuss how the approaches developed can be interlinked. The final result should be a concept that can bring Germany back to the forefront from the ground up with something to offer every individual. The formats will be initiated in the coming weeks. Initial results are to be presented in the second half of the year. Companies will also be involved: through initiatives in their communications, they can help to create more confidence and self-efficacy through more shared experiences and common goals. At the same time, forces are to be pooled by networking various existing or planned initiatives.

Jens Lönneker, founder and managing director of rheingold salon: ‘This study is the most important in my professional career and a project close to my heart, as it concerns the foundations of our coexistence. The presentation of the results goes hand in hand with a concrete task, which is what makes this project so special. It is our declared goal to set something in motion – and to do so on the three different levels addressed by this study: media, advertising and politics.’

Meinolf Ellers, Managing Director of #UseTheNews: ‘Unlike their parents and grandparents, young people and young adults today can no longer trust the promises of a prosperous future that were taken for granted in post-war German history after 1949. To prevent this from turning into paralysing frustration, passivity and disillusionment with democracy, we need to provide the under-30s with precisely the new forms of social participation and being heard that the study calls for.’

Manfred Kluge, co-founder and chairman of Initiative 18: ‘We are experiencing a massive crisis of trust and confidence in our country, which is also being fuelled by social media. We want to counter this with clear and effective approaches for the media, politics and business. Let's put an end to pessimism; we can all contribute to a better future. In this project and as Initiative 18, local journalism is particularly important to us. As a corrective to disinformation and as a seismograph of what is troubling people on the ground. Listening and constructive journalism – this increases the self-efficacy of society.’

Study design

The in-depth psychological study is based on 87 in-depth interviews conducted by the market research agency rheingold salon, 40 of which were with media consumers and 15 with young people from eastern and western Germany. Based on the findings from these in-depth psychological interviews, a representative online survey of 1,000 people in East and West Germany was conducted in cooperation with the market research company Ominiquest. In addition, rheingold salon interviewed 20 journalists from East and West Germany and 12 experts from politics and business. The research team was recruited from East and West Germany and different age groups. The aim was to integrate as many perspectives as possible.

#UseTheNews: The nationwide project #UseTheNews examines young people's news consumption and literacy and develops new information and educational offerings. Together with numerous partners from the media, education and research, it seeks answers to the question of how young people inform themselves and how they can be better reached with journalistic news. Contact Meinolf Ellers: meinolf@usethenews.info

Initiative 18: Initiative 18 is committed to a diverse, free and sustainable media landscape. Its mission: to protect and strengthen press freedom, promote media diversity, ensure the responsible allocation of advertising budgets and combat disinformation. Contact Manfred Kluge: manfred.kluge@omnicommediagroup.com

rheingold salon: The Lönneker & Imdahl rheingold salon is one of Germany's most renowned market research agencies, based in Cologne. For more than 30 years, its founders have been conducting market and media research based on cultural and depth psychological analyses. Contact Jens Lönneker: Loenneker@rheingold-salon.de

Contact for interview requests, image material, charts, etc.: Marcus Prosch, Prosch Communications I marcus@prosch-communications.de