The Role of Media: Improve or Impede? The Mediating Effect of Media Use on the Relationship between Education and Political Trust.

Media and education have always been regarded as important factors affecting political trust. Although novel research shows that education level and media usage have a different effect on political trust separately, there is scant research into the mediating effect of media on the relationship between education and political trust. I hypothesize that, among the Chinese, lower education levels lead to the use of multiple traditional media, thereby enhancing political trust. Higher education levels should lead to more social media use, thereby reducing political trust. Based on a moderation and regression analysis using data from the public database called “Internet Users’ Social Awareness Survey”, I find that education has both increased the use of traditional media and social media, and both forms of media reduce political trust. The results are thus not completely in line with the hypotheses. Based on the findings, avenues for additional research are also discussed.