Analysis of the effects of mass media on rural social trust reduction: A case study of Kenvist rural areas in the county of Mashhad

Mass media draw upon the meanings and values prevailing in everyday life and exert profound effects on the social entity of villages. They affect all individuals and social aspects and play a decisive and meaningful role in the beliefs and attitudes of members of the society. They are also an important source of promoting, propagating or changing the values of rural communities, including social trust. Given the role that mass media have in social trust, the present study examines the impact of mass media on reducing the social trust of villagers. The research is an applied study conducted by a descriptive- analytical method. Kenvist rural district was selected as the study area. To determine the number of sample villages according to the NO formula and from 23 villages that had over 200 people each, 11 villages with the highest population were selected for the case study. Also, the sample size was determined to be 196 persons by using Cochran’s formula. The data extracted from questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS and GIS software programs and through ARAS techniques. The findings showed that satellite programs have had the most effects on decreasing the social trust among villagers. Also, according to the village ranking, the villages of Shotorak and Kenargoosheh have received the most and the least influence from social media in this regard respectively.