LAWRENCE, Kansas—People who feel more capable of navigating the digital information environment are also more likely to trust public institutions, according to new research from the University of Kansas. The findings, based on two studies involving more than 1,300 adults in India, suggest that media literacy may influence more than an individual’s ability to identify misleading content. It may also shape how citizens evaluate governments, nonprofit organizations, news outlets and other institutions that support democratic life. At the same time, the research indicates that online civic participation is not necessarily determined by the platform people use or by whether they create content themselves. Instead, simply taking part in civic activity online may be the factor that matters most.
The studies were designed to examine the connections among internet use, media literacy, institutional trust, online behavior and civic engagement in India, one of the world’s largest democracies and most important media markets. Although previous research has linked media literacy and civic participation in Western countries, comparatively little work has explored whether those relationships appear in other cultural and media environments. “We’re measuring the kind of questions like whether or not people trust those institutions to help them or carry out democratic values,” said Christopher Etheridge, an assistant professor of journalism and mass communications at KU and an author of the studies. The researchers wanted to test whether established theories about media use and democracy could be applied in an understudied national context.
In the first study, participants completed a survey measuring their confidence in a range of media-literacy skills. These included navigating websites, locating information, understanding how media and technology companies operate, evaluating online material and teaching digital skills to other people. The survey also asked respondents how much they trusted governments, nonprofit organizations and media outlets, along with questions about their news consumption and use of social-media services such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Rather than treating media literacy as a simple ability to access the internet, the researchers examined it as a combination of perceived competence and critical evaluation: the capacity to find information, understand its origin and judge whether it is useful or credible.
Media literacy emerged as the strongest predictor of trust in social institutions. Respondents who felt confident searching for information and helping others develop similar skills reported higher levels of confidence in government and other organizations. Those who regularly said they critically assessed information encountered online also tended to express greater institutional trust. The pattern does not prove that media literacy directly causes people to trust institutions; because the research used survey data collected at a specific point in time, the relationship could work in both directions or reflect other factors. People who already feel connected to their communities, for example, may be more motivated both to learn digital skills and to view institutions positively. Even with those limitations, the association suggests that digital competence may be connected to how citizens interpret the performance and legitimacy of public organizations.
The researchers describe this relationship through the concept of social capital, the networks, shared expectations and relationships that help people cooperate within a society. Traditional and online news consumption was also associated with higher levels of institutional trust, especially among respondents who reported strong media-literacy skills. Access to information alone, however, did not appear to be enough. The technical ability to search, compare and evaluate sources may help citizens place information in context, distinguish institutional communication from entertainment or rumor and assess whether public organizations are fulfilling their responsibilities. In this sense, media literacy functions as a form of civic infrastructure: an individual skill that can affect how people connect with institutions and participate in public life.
Heavy social-media use showed a different pattern. Respondents who reported using social media more frequently tended to have lower levels of trust in institutions, with particularly notable results for WhatsApp. The platform is widely used in India for personal communication, group messaging and the circulation of news and political information, but public institutions may have less visibility there than they do on conventional news channels or official websites. The finding does not mean that WhatsApp use inevitably undermines trust, nor does it establish that the platform causes skepticism. Instead, the researchers suggest that the structure of the platform may make it difficult for governments and other public organizations to communicate transparently with large audiences. They argue that institutions could potentially build trust by developing more effective, credible and accessible forms of engagement on messaging platforms where citizens already exchange information.
The second study focused on mediated civic engagement, examining whether people’s media habits and online behavior predicted their participation in community activities. The researchers asked participants about their use of traditional media, entertainment-oriented platforms and social media, as well as their online activity, media-literacy skills and involvement in civic or community events. The results showed that people who consumed more traditional media reported higher levels of civic engagement than those who relied more heavily on entertainment-based platforms. Facebook and WhatsApp use, however, did not necessarily predict greater participation. This distinction is important because being online frequently is not the same as being involved in community life. Digital exposure may provide opportunities for engagement, but it does not automatically convert into volunteering, organizing, attending events or participating in collective decision-making.
The researchers also compared people who primarily created online content with those who participated by commenting on, sharing or responding to material produced by others. The two groups displayed similar levels of civic engagement. “All types of online users found civic activity important,” Etheridge said. “That tells us it is not necessarily how you engage civically online, just that you do.” The result challenges the assumption that original content creators are inherently more civically active than people who amplify or discuss existing information. From a communication perspective, sharing and commenting can help distribute information through social networks, while original posts may initiate discussion; both forms of activity can contribute to the circulation of civic messages and the formation of online communities.
Unlike the first study, media literacy did not positively predict civic engagement in the second survey. That difference suggests that media literacy may play distinct roles in democratic life. Critical information skills could be especially important for forming judgments about institutions, while actual participation may depend more strongly on access to community networks, personal motivation, political interest, social opportunity and the availability of meaningful activities. The findings also caution against treating “digital literacy” as a universal solution to misinformation or disengagement. Teaching people how to evaluate information may improve the quality of their decisions, but institutions must still provide reliable information and create realistic pathways for citizens to participate.
Together, the studies offer a complicated picture of digital democracy. Online platforms can expand access to information and make community organization faster, but they can also fragment attention and separate citizens from official sources. People encounter news, entertainment, personal messages and political claims in the same digital stream, often without clear signals about credibility or accountability. The KU researchers argue that healthy democracies should therefore invest in media-literacy education while also improving the way public institutions communicate across the platforms citizens use most. The research, conducted with Nazra Izhar and Moses Okocha, was published in Journalism and Media and Frontiers in Communication. As misinformation, disinformation and democratic backsliding continue to challenge societies worldwide, the findings suggest that strengthening public trust may require both better information systems and citizens equipped to understand them.
Subject of Research: People
Article Title: Media Literacy and Social Capital: Indian Citizens’ Attitudes Toward Media and Established Institutions
News Publication Date: 21-Jul-2026
Web References: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5172/7/3/147; https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/communication/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1862977/full
References: Journalism and Media, DOI: 10.3390/journalmedia7030147; Frontiers in Communication
Keywords: media literacy, social capital, institutional trust, civic engagement, India, social media, WhatsApp, Facebook, digital literacy, democracy, misinformation, news media
