To trust or not to trust? Exploring the roles of Facebook and WhatsApp use and network diversity

Grounded in the theory of network-based social capital, this study examined and compared how Facebook and WhatsApp’s sociability use connected with generalized trust through the mediation of network diversity. Analyzing data from an online survey of 1,329 Hong Kong residents, this study found that Facebook’s sociability use had a positive indirect relationship with generalized trust through increased network diversity, whereas WhatsApp’s sociability use did not influence generalized trust. Those findings unraveled the divergent social implications possessed by different social media platforms and were further discussed from the network-centered perspective of social capital. Copyright © 2023 Mass Communication & Society Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.