New research published jointly today by Opinium Research and Grayling has found a distinct group within UK society who are increasingly hard to reach with important public service, health, political and business communications.<\/p>\n
The group, coined the \u2018Opt-Outs<\/strong>\u2019 comprise 29% of the UK and are a section of society that government, media, brands and advertisers find it harder to get through to, and who feel a growing sense of alienation.<\/p>\n Overwhelmingly comprised of the over-55s and more likely to be female, the Opt-Outs have low rates of engagement with, and trust in, media, with 27% watching television once a month, 60% never reading a print newspaper, 36% never reading online news sites, and 26% saying that social media can never be trusted at all.<\/p>\n Perhaps of most concern, this group are increasingly hard to reach with important public service information. Nearly 20% of those within this category claim to \u2018never\u2019 receive any public health information via any channel, whilst nearly 25% say they \u2018never\u2019 receive any government communications, and nearly 30% claim to \u2018never\u2019 see any information pertaining to politics. This leaves an audience of millions of Britons untouched by communications on a variety of vitally important issues.<\/p>\n This lack of engagement with, and trust in, media, appears to translate to a lack of engagement with, and trust in, politics and wider society. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the \u2018Opt-Outs\u2019 have no trust that the Government takes decisions in the public interest, whilst 65% saying they feel \u2018not very\u2019 or \u2018not at all\u2019 connected to their local community.<\/p>\n This \u2018Opt-Outs\u2019 group of UK citizens:<\/p>\n Commenting on the findings, Sarah Scholefield<\/strong>, Global CEO of Grayling, said: \u201cIt\u2019s worrying to find a large number of people at risk of becoming disconnected. Not just from media, but more broadly. As we come out of one global health emergency and into a serious cost-of-living crisis, this presents a huge challenge to governments, brands, media, service providers, and communicators; we need to work hard to ensure vital communications and messaging reaches those people who need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n