Relationship between Use of Mass Media and Social Trust among University Students

Nowadays due to the unique characteristics of the world, social trust is being one of the main topics in social life. Therefore development of civil society, social capital and the growth of democracy are immediate products of trust. This study set out with the aim of assessing the relationship between the local media (radio, TV and newspapers) and foreign media (radio, satellite, and the Internet) with social trust. In the present survey we used multistage cluster sampling and a researcher-made questionnaire. The population of the study includes students of Mazandaran University and the sample size is determined using Lin Table equaled as 400. Overall results suggest that there was no significant relationship between the foreign media usage and generalized trust and interpersonal trust as well. Moreover there is a direct and significant relationship between the local media usage and generalized, interpersonal and institutional trust, while there has been an inverse and significant relationship between institutional trust and the foreign media usage. Social trust is increased through using local media and vice versa is reduced through using foreign media.