The Relationship between Institutional Trust and Online Political Activity

This article examines the relationship between different types of institutional trust and online political activity. To assess online political activity, the authors developed an original methodology (questionnaire) "Online Political Activity Assessment Questionnaire", including two subscales “Political self-expression on the Internet” and “Online political activism”. Questions from the European Social Survey (ESS) questionnaire were used to assess institutional trust. The sample included 502 respondents (60% were women). The study found that online political expression was unrelated to the overall index of institutional trust, although a negative relationship was expected. At the same time, we found that institutional trust is positively associated with online political activism. That is, people who have higher institutional trust will more often vote via the Internet, participate in various Internet campaigns initiated by the state or structures (for example, volunteer) that are supported by the state. We come to the important conclusion that support for the state’s digital initiatives and willingness to use them in everyday life is largely associated with people’s institutional trust.