Online Social Networks and Trust

Fabio Sabatini and Francesco Sarracino

Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, 2019, vol. 142, issue 1, No 10, 229-260

Abstract: Abstract We use Italian data from the Multipurpose Household Survey to explore how participation in social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook and Twitter affects the most economically relevant aspect of social capital, trust. We account for measures of trust in strangers (often referred to as social trust), trust in neighbours (particularized trust) and trust in the police (institutional trust). We address endogeneity in the use of SNS by exploiting the variation in the availability of broadband for high-speed Internet, which relates to technological characteristics of the pre-existing voice telecommunication infrastructures. We find that all the forms of trust significantly decrease with participation in online networks. We discuss several interpretations of the results in light of the specific features of Internet-mediated social interaction.

Keywords: Internet; Broadband; Online networks; Social networking sites; Facebook; Trust; Social capital; Hate speech (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C36 D85 O33 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Working Paper: Online social networks and trust (2015)
Working Paper: Online social networks and trust (2015)
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DOI: 10.1007/s11205-018-1887-2

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