시민의 매체 이용과 사회적 신뢰 : 매체 이용량 및 패턴을 중심으로

This study examined the relationship of citizens' media use with their trusting attitudes toward other people, focusing on the two dimensions of media use--how much time they spend for the mass media and how they use them. This study identified the two fundamental patterns of media use: ‘information and surveillance’ and ‘entertainment and diversion,’ and tried to explore the social trust in different two pattern-oriented groups of newspaper, television, and the Internet, respectively. Results showed that the total time people have spent for newspaper reading, television watching, and Internet use was not significantly related to their social trust. Rather, Those who was female and old, lived in small cities or country, and thought their subjective social ranks were relatively high had trusting attitudes toward other people. Results from the analysis of social trust according to groups of media-use patterns revealed that, first, people's residence area had a significant link with social trust only for the groups of newspaper-use patterns. Second, those who subjectively thought themselves in higher social rank were more likely to have trusting attitudes. Third, media-use time had no effects on social trust in almost every group of media-use patterns. Overall, with or without the consideration of the media-use pattern, citizens' socioeconomic status and their contextual factors were more significant predictors to their social trust rather than the total time they have spent for the mass media.