Media Literacy and Social Capital: Indian Citizens’ Attitudes Toward Media and Established Institutions

This study investigates the dynamics between media use, online activity, media literacy, and institutional trust among Indian citizens through a survey of adults distributed in six languages. Drawing on social capital theory, this study investigates how various media behaviors relate to perceptions of institutional actors such as governments, non-profits, and corporations as those actors increasingly seek digital avenues to reach constituencies. Findings underscore the significant relationships between media use, media literacy and positive views of democratic institutions, while online activities themselves did not appear to be significant. Notably, media literacy emerges as having a key positive tie to trust in political and state institutions as well as private, media, technology, and non-profit institutions. These results shed light on the nuanced relationship between digital engagement and perceptions of institutional credibility within the Indian context.