Media Effects on Political and Social Trust

Abstract

Public opinion data from the last two decades document a crisis of confidence in America. Citizens are expressing lower levels of trust in government and in others. To what extent are variations in political and social trust a function of media use? Using data from the 1996 American National Election Study, we find that media use affects only social trust. Reading newspapers and watching television entertainment content enhanced social trust, while watching television news undermined trust in others. We discuss the implications of these findings for the healthy functioning of democratic systems.