The Great American Vertigo: Why We're All Dizzy (No Matter Who We Voted For)

November 14, 2024

Picture a nation of 330 million people, all riding the same turbulent carousel – some white-knuckling the brass poles, others throwing their hands up in defiance, but everyone feeling the same nauseating spin. Our latest research reveals that what began as 2020’s momentary crisis has evolved into something far more insidious – a chronic condition we’re calling the “Perma-Swirl,” and it presents both a tough environment and an opportunity for brands to gain attention.

The data tells a sobering story of acceleration. When we first conducted holistic research on the nation’s mood in the fall of 2020 at the height of the pandemic, 24% of Americans reported feeling overwhelmed. Today, that number has nearly doubled to 40%. The exhaustion that gripped 20% of Americans in 2020 has now consumed 41% of the population. Perhaps most telling: the uncertainty that plagued 46% of Americans during COVID has surged to 57% in 2024. This isn’t a temporary disruption anymore – it’s our new normal. Intriguingly, some metrics have remained stubbornly consistent: political division (77% in 2020, 75% today) and economic concerns (holding steady at 61%) suggest these aren’t just situational stressors, but fundamental features of our national psyche.

This isn’t just another cultural buzzword. The Perma-Swirl represents a fundamental shift in how Americans process information, make decisions, and connect with brands. Their attention is not only finite and fractured, it’s under siege. Two-thirds of Americans report being caught in a state of constant emotional vertigo, where change isn’t just constant – it’s disorienting and overwhelming. And here’s the kicker: it’s one of the few things Americans, no matter why or how they voted, actually agree on these days.

What’s particularly startling with our 2024 results highlighted above is how crushed younger generations appear to be with the current disorienting world we live in. On top of this is the truth that if you are suffering with a health condition (and over half of Americans are) or you work in healthcare professionally, the level of overwhelmed and simultaneous resilience is particularly stunning. And my goodness, are HCPs using more vibe-based decision making over facts these days? Wow Dorothy, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore.

The Anatomy of America’s New Normal

The numbers tell a striking story: 41% of Americans feel “often or always” overwhelmed by constant change. It’s affecting our sleep (one in three report difficulties), our scrolling habits (75% admit to persistent doom scrolling), and even how we make decisions (40% now prioritize “vibes” over facts).

This state of perpetual overwhelm manifests in fascinating paradoxes. While 74% rate inflation as terrible, only 24% expect their personal finances to worsen. Similarly, only 32% believe our healthcare system is in good shape, yet 66% claim they feel more educated about their health than ever before.

Even our recent election anxiety (reported by 76% of Americans) is just one more symptom of our collective vertigo. Whether conservative or liberal, Americans share remarkably similar levels of exhaustion and overwhelm – maybe we just express it differently.

Perhaps most telling is the crisis of confidence in our institutions. Only 18% trust companies and brands to help navigate these turbulent times, despite 50% believing they should. Traditional authorities are being replaced by TikTok trends and viral moments – just ask Elmo, whose innocent “How is everybody doing?” tweet unleashed an avalanche of raw emotional truth from 219.7 million viewers.

One of our most fascinating findings is what we call the “45% Gap” – the consistent difference between how Americans view their personal situations versus the state of the nation. This gap remains remarkably steady as compared to four years ago and even more fascinatingly, across all demographics, political orientation and even health status — suggesting we’re united in our cognitive dissonance, if nothing else.

What This Means for Brands

In this era of shared vertigo, the worst thing a brand can be is ignored. But capturing attention in the Perma-Swirl isn’t about shouting louder – it’s about resonating deeper. The most successful brands will be those that steady the ship while acknowledging the storm, offering both compass and shelter to overwhelmed consumers seeking direction.

At McKinney, we’ve long understood that meaningful attention isn’t one-dimensional. It’s built on three crucial pillars: Affinity (being not just on the radar, but in hearts and minds), Intensity (becoming the preferred choice through brave, authentic connection), and Momentum (generating captivating buzz through cultural relevance). The Perma-Swirl hasn’t just validated this framework – it’s made it more vital than ever. Because this isn’t just another cultural insight – it’s a radical reimagining of how brands must operate in an era of perpetual uncertainty. Our research has uncovered five key imperatives that will separate the winners from the also-rans:

1. Embrace Adaptive Consistency

Today’s consumers crave stability but reject rigidity. Brands must master the art of “fluid foundations” – maintaining core values while demonstrating agile responsiveness to shifting cultural currents.

Successful brands are creating “stability rituals” – predictable touchpoints that provide rhythm in chaos while remaining flexible enough to evolve. Little Caesars brings back its beloved Pretzel Crust pizza every two years, but each time they bring it back with a fresh (and unexpected) activation: from a nationwide scavenger hunt for Pretzel Crust clues, to a full-on product fake out, keeping people excited about the product.

2. Practice Paradox Intelligence

The most successful brands will transcend binary thinking to hold space for contradictory truths: luxury and value, global and local, digital and physical, personal optimism and collective pessimism.

Create marketing frameworks that embrace “both/and” thinking instead of “either/or” positions. For example, Almond Breeze is a brand that’s known for being wholesome and healthy, but recently embraced an unexpected holiday, showing up during Halloween with a 20-ft skeleton that was a proof point of its high calcium content.

3. Deploy Strategic Silence

In the attention economy, knowing when to help provide meditative moments becomes as crucial as knowing what to say. 

Build “white space” into brand communications – intentional pauses that allow messages to resonate and relationships to deepen. Some of you may recall that just two weeks ago, the meditation app, Calm, did this on election night.

4. Cultivate Trust Through Transparency

With institutional trust at historic lows, brands must radically reimagine how they build credibility.

Move beyond traditional authority claims to create collaborative trust models where consumers are active participants in brand evolution. Consider Patagonia’s full-page New York Times “Don’t Buy This Jacket” ad that actively discouraged Black Friday consumption. This work detailed the exact costs of their best-selling jacket and created the “Footprint Chronicles” showing their complete supply chain. Epic.

5. Engineer Emotional Wayfinding

Develop sophisticated emotional intelligence systems that help brands navigate the gap between consumer sentiment and behavior.

Create metrics that measure not just reach or engagement but emotional resonance and stability-creation through deeper linguistic analysis. In an industry that talks about “empathy marketing” we are suggesting a much more nuanced curation of the right vibe. We love the 2023 Spotify “For The Ride” campaign which created immersive audiovisual experiences showing how music guides us through different emotional states. This turned chaotic listening patterns into meaningful constellations that help listeners navigate daily transitions and emotional states.

The Bottom Line

As America navigates this new normal, brands have an unprecedented opportunity to be stabilizing forces in an unstable world. The winners won’t be those that shout the loudest or pick sides, but those that acknowledge our shared experience and offer genuine help in finding our footing.

In the Perma-Swirl era, the most powerful thing a brand can do is refuse to be ignored while remembering what makes us all human. Because while we might disagree on the causes of our collective dizziness, we’re all looking for ways to stay steady.

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Ready to help your brand navigate these swirling times? McKinney’s been studying this phenomenon since 2020. Contact to learn how your brand can help steady a nation in perpetual vertigo at: newbiz@mckinney.com.

Welcome to the Perma-Swirl. Turns out stability is the new disruption.

 

Written by Christine Leonard, Director of Strategy

With analysis from: Brian LoPiccolo, Director, Consumer and Brand Data | Fritz Culp, Social Analyst, Content | Hallie Humbert, Strategist