The article and the data in the graph are a little out of kilter. The data is suggesting that as people are becoming less trusting (I'd hazard because of better access to information through the internet).
I don't think there is any strong evidence that the tech giants are trading in trust. It looks more like there is something bimodal happening where media companies have low trust (Google should probably converge to Twitter/Facebook levels of trust over time) and typical companies score a 2.6 (Amazon should probably converge to being about as trustworthy as a bank).
It was never a sane position to believe these companies are unusually trustworthy. They are companies. Nothing special. Everything is smiles and sunshine while an industry is growing, the knives come out once there is a steady state and they corporate dynamics become a bit more fixed-pie. People had unrealistic expectations; that trust was never sustainable.
> I'd hazard because of better access to information through the internet
I’m not sure much changed with regard to access to information on the internet in the US between 2018 and 2021.
> I don't think there is any strong evidence that the tech giants are trading in trust.
There have been a number of lively discussions here on HN over the past few years about the volume of garbage and/or counterfeit products on Amazon, and their unwillingness to address essentially fraudulent activity re reviews and product listings among their marketplace sellers.
Seeing this transition happen myself (as someone who got an Amazon rewards credit card in 2007, Prime in 2010) I absolutely viewed it as Amazon trading trust for short-term profits. Once upon a time I had trust that I could order from them without a huge amount of research and get quality, authentic products quickly. That has changed significantly, and I think broader sentiment is slowly catching up.
I don't think there is any strong evidence that the tech giants are trading in trust. It looks more like there is something bimodal happening where media companies have low trust (Google should probably converge to Twitter/Facebook levels of trust over time) and typical companies score a 2.6 (Amazon should probably converge to being about as trustworthy as a bank).
It was never a sane position to believe these companies are unusually trustworthy. They are companies. Nothing special. Everything is smiles and sunshine while an industry is growing, the knives come out once there is a steady state and they corporate dynamics become a bit more fixed-pie. People had unrealistic expectations; that trust was never sustainable.