Paper short abstract:

Based on an analysis of survey data on young people's media use, demographic factors, trust in political information on traditional and social media, this empirical study seeks to fully understand the relationship between media use and young people's political trust in China

Paper long abstract:

A substantial number of studies suggest that the media have a significant influence on people's trust in institutions and organizations. Most prior studies have investigated the effect of traditional media on political trust and now many scholars pay attention to social media. As the largest Internet user in the world, China has changed hugely in every aspect since the late 1970s. Social media now plays a crucial role in spreading news and communication between the government and citizens. A very limited number of empirical studies have been conducted on the comparison of the effects of traditional media and social media on citizens' political trust as well as the relationship between social media use and trust in China, which has attracted growing scholarly attention in the West.

By doing so, an online survey will be conducted before this June by a survey company based in China. The questionnaire consists of 39 questions and a total of 2000 young individuals participate in it. This study aims to examine young people's media use, their demographic factors such as gender, education, and occupation, their trust in political information on traditional and social media, as well as their trust in government. Based on an analysis of survey data on young adults' media use, this empirical study seeks to fully understand the different impact of traditional and social media on the young people's political trust in China.