How interpersonal trust manifests 3
How Interpersonal Trust Manifests Online Behavior: A Case Study
Exploring the Impact of Societal Levels of Interpersonal Trust on the
Utilization of Online Source Credible Information
The Internet is the single most pervasive, involving and global
communication system ever created by human beings, with a host of untapped
and unknown economic, political, economic, and socio-cultural implications
(Chesebro, 2000). As the medium continues to expand globally, it presents an
excellent world laboratory for studying the effects of culture on media use. While
many social commentators have associated the Internet and the World Wide Web
with significant changes in social values and behaviors (Fisher and Wright, 2001),
not much attention has focused on the mediating influences of cultural or societal
values on online media use. Despite the proliferation of scholarship on CMC, the
literature contains very few analysis of the role that culture might play in
technology mediated communication and interaction (Ess and Sudweeks, 1998).
However, cultural and societal values have a significant influence on many
situations (Hofstede, 1980) and cultural differences are still deeply rooted and
prevalent. Also, since the Internet is still in its relative infancy globally, the
convergent effects (Kincaid, 1987) of this communication technology are still not
pervasive. Hence an understanding of the micro level mediating influence of
culture and social factors on online media use is still significant. Extant cross-
cultural research on online media use is limited due to the hybrid nature of the
medium. As a multi point technology that creates a convergence of various
functional media forms, the Internet fosters varying uses and user modes. This
Convention