Social Media Trust Tracker: A Growing Trust Gap

April, 2023

Social media sites are failing to meet our expectations on trust. We surveyed people on 7 trust factors ranging from Data Safety to Censorship. The top factors — data safety, platform reliability, and trusting information — have risen in importance over time in response to current events and buzzy news headlines. As factors that define trust rise in importance, our trust in these platforms’ ability to deliver is falling. The result is a growing gap between what we think is important for a platform to be trustworthy and how well we believe they perform.

But despite the gaps in trust, use is holding steady. Even sustained negative news, which impacted Twitter and TikTok’s scores on data safety and user verification, did not drive mass exodus — 3 in 4 Twitter users and 7 in 10 on TikTok say they won’t change or will increase platform use in the next month. Ultimately, the connection with family/friends and the relaxation these platforms provide — the top reasons for which people say they use social media — are keeping people scrolling for now.

To read the full report, click ‘Download PDF’ below.

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