One of the most revolutionary tools ever created by man is undoubtedly the internet, as it has turned our world into a single global village. It has enabled the rapid development of societies from the end of the 20th century to the present. The internet brought easier access to information and improved interpersonal communication worldwide. Over the last 20 to 30 years, social media and, most recently, artificial intelligence have joined it.

All of this has fundamentally changed our daily lives. While the internet made information accessible, it also allowed a free flow of disinformation and false information. This affects the stability of modern societies, the core of which is trust.

Trust is one of the main pillars of social cohesion. Low trust in society has a negative impact not only on our relationships but also on the quality of life and the wealth of the state, the perception of collective identity, the ability to respond to crises or economic growth or the growth of polarization and anti-system sentiment.

There are two types of trust: interpersonal (between people) and institutional (towards institutions). This blog focuses on interpersonal trust in Slovakia. In our country, the level of general interpersonal trust fluctuates around 23 percent every year.

According to our latest data (WVS wave 8), general trust among people in Slovakia in 2025 is at 25.6 percent. Although our trust has slightly increased year-on-year, this rate is still very low. Currently, approximately three-quarters of people believe that one must be cautious with others. Slovakia has had a low level of trust for a long time, regardless of who is in power or the economic situation.

At the DEKK Institute, we have been studying trust from multiple perspectives for years. Since the internet has completely changed the way we connect with others, it is important to understand whether its use can also affect our trust.

While the internet has "democratized" knowledge, it is also a source of uncontrollable disinformation and polarizing narratives. According to our data, a total of 83.7 o percent people in Slovakia use the internet. Almost 90 percent (89.48%) of them also use social media. A sharp increase in usage has been recorded worldwide, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic.

A 2004 study found that the internet users do not have greater or lesser general trust than people who do not use the internet. At the same time, internet at the beginning of the 21st century was significantly different from what it is today.

Another study published in 2008 in the US found that when people use the internet for social contact, spending more time online increases trust and reduces feelings of information overload. However, when people feel overwhelmed by information, spending more time online leads to a decrease in general trust.

Looking at more recent research, we can see that the focus is more on polarization than trust. However, these phenomena are interrelated. It is true that if we do not trust each other in society, we perceive disagreement as a threat rather than a legitimate difference of opinion. A study from the US reports that the online environment contributes to the emptying of the political center. It has been shown that groups of the population without strong opinions become polarized when following political topics online. Another study, which looked at the impact of traditional media and internet on attitudes towards the environment in Europe, found that the internet reinforces people's existing attitudes towards the environment. It appears that confirmation bias is linked to internet use. Using internet tends to reinforce our beliefs (whatever they may be) rather than challenge them.

And these studies agree that the internet can reinforce polarization in society.

According to a 2015 literature review, social media play an important role in creating social connections, for example, thanks to their interactivity, which traditional media (e.g., television) do not have. Among the articles, we find some that identified a positive effect of using social media on trust. Several articles found no effect. Interestingly, however, not a single article found a negative effect of social media on our trust. This is confirmed by a study on the impact of online social interactions in China, which showed positive results in the area of trust towards strangers. In the US, it was found that those who do not use internet and social media at all have increased their polarization, while it was found that more frequent use of the internet does not increase polarization.

Overall, the theory argues that social media have a positive impact on trust. However, this does not necessarily mean that trust is growing across different groups. Rather, it helps us build trust within our groups (e.g., people from the same neighborhood, culture, interest groups, etc.).

While some studies confirm increased trust between groups, others do not show this. Ultimately, social media are often used more to keep in touch with friends and family than to gather information. When social media (and internet) are known for successfully creating information bubbles or echo chambers, promoting biased content, helping to spread misinformation quickly, but also creating connections.

Our data (8th wave of WVS data) was collected through an in-person survey via the random walk method. The representative survey was conducted between October 2 and November 9, 2025, in Slovakia with 1,200 respondents. The results were weighted using standard socio-demographic weights.

To measure interpersonal trust, respondents were asked the question: "Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you need to be very careful in dealing with people?" They were offered a choice between two categories: a) "most people can be trusted" (trust), or b) "you need to be very careful" (caution).

To measure internet and social media use, we asked the question: "People learn about events in this country and around the world from various sources. For each of the following sources, indicate whether you use it to obtain information daily, weekly, monthly, less than once a month, or never."

Caution remains high across all categories of internet use. However, the share of those who trust other people is significantly higher (30.46%) in the group of weekly internet users than in other groups.

Using or not using the internet will not cure the society's lack of trust.

Nevertheless, we can observe its various impacts on how we trust other people. The internet is a place for making contacts, but also for misinformation. The data showed us that daily users and "non-users" have similar levels of trust and distrust.

• Daily internet users have the opportunity to encounter a wealth of information, knowledge, and ways of life, which helps in forming social contacts. At the same time, they encounter incorrect information or misinformation, or they "reinforce" their own beliefs, which essentially polarizes them. This reduces their trust in others.
• We can observe lower trust and higher vigilance with a high degree of probability in people who do not use the internet. They have fewer interactions with people who are different and unknown to them. On the other hand, they avoid encountering misinformation online.
• Weekly internet users achieve the best results.

This data therefore underscores that the internet can be a useful tool if used appropriately.

In Slovakia, we see the lowest trust and highest caution (77.01%) among people who use social media daily.

While previous research has concluded that social networks have a primarily positive effect on trust as a means of building social relationships, our data does not confirm this. The data showed that if someone already uses social networks, the more they use them, the more our trust declines.

One possible reason is that social networks and their algorithms create information bubbles and reinforce our existing beliefs. At the same time, the algorithm popularizes controversial narratives that may not necessarily be based on facts.

Nevertheless, the highest level of distrust is also found among people who do not use social networks at all. Although they protect themselves from negative influences on the one hand, on the other hand, we do not have access to the benefits that could support their trust.

The specific frequency of internet or social media use does not guarantee that people will develop a higher level of trust. As our data shows, there are no significant differences between user groups, and other factors may have a more significant impact on trust. Nevertheless, a clear pattern can be observed, showing that with moderate use, the level of vigilance is lower.

The impact of the internet and social media on interpersonal trust remains largely under-researched. Most articles focus more on institutional trust (e.g., trust in institutions, the president, the prime minister, healthcare, etc.) than interpersonal trust. It is clear that the internet and social networks have developed rapidly over the last few decades and reached a high number of users during the Covid-19 pandemic. The internet and social networks are essential tools that help spread information, knowledge, and connections around the world. However, their development has also brought other negative aspects.

As a result, moderate use of the internet and social networks in Slovakia has the best impact on general interpersonal trust. Nevertheless, weekly internet use instead of daily use will not solve the long-term low level of trust in the country. This requires a multidisciplinary approach. As already mentioned, long-term low levels of trust can destabilize society. It appears that despite the privileges of living in the internet age, it is important not to forget to live in the real world as well.