Sociologists at St Petersburg University: about 90% of citizens in St Petersburg trust banking apps
Researchers at St Petersburg University have conducted a study and determined the level of trust of citizens of St Petersburg in mobile apps, online shops, social networks and their users. It turned out that 90% of respondents trusted the banking apps they use, and the highest degree of trust in social networks was recorded among students — 83%.
Experts at the 6th St Petersburg International Labour Forum will discuss how digitalisation impacts the effectiveness of social media in the job search as well as the overall level of trust in society.
Today, electronic services are commonplace for almost every modern person. Trust is therefore rapidly transforming into ‘digital’ or ’networking’, i.e. mediated by communication technologies (social networks, apps, websites, chat rooms and other services). For example, a significant proportion of payment transactions are now made through bank websites or applications, and purchases are made through online shops and delivery services, where many processes are robotic.
The results of surveys conducted with the equipment of the Centre for Sociology and Internet Research of St Petersburg University showed that the trust of St Petersburg residents depends on how transparent the rules of a service or organisation seem to be. At the same time, according to the survey, it is important that digital communication with organisations exclude the influence of the personal factor and, as a consequence, corruption.
However, as the researchers from St Petersburg University note, not all St Petersburg residents are equally involved in digital reality. Older people use social networks and various Internet services much less, so their level of digital trust is low, only 34.3%. Young people use Internet services much more frequently and freely, with a level of trust of 77.8%.
Digital divide emerging today has more to do with age divide — older people without digital literacy skills are excluded from the digital world.
Yuri Veselov, author of the study, Head of the Department of Economic Sociology at St Petersburg University and Labour Forum expert
’We also noticed that education increases the level of digital trust, as well as of everyday trust. According to the results of the survey, students trust social media the most: their degree of trust is 83%,’ said Yuri Veselov, Head of the Department of Economic Sociology at St Petersburg University and expert at the Labour Forum.
According to the researchers at St Petersburg University, the highest level of digital trust is observed in the entrepreneurial environment, as the activities of businesspeople involve mastering the general rules of trust to make successful deals and develop their business. Among people who define themselves as businessmen or self-employed, the percentage of digital trust is 44.6%, which is the highest among all types of employment.
However, the overall level of trust among citizens of St Petersburg in social media is higher than in ordinary interpersonal communication. For example, 15.2% of respondents fully trusted their online friends and 44.3% partially trusted their friends. St Petersburg University experts attribute this not only to the deliberate shaping of one’s image online, but also to the possibility to quickly cease online communication.
On social media, people shape accounts as they want, determining the amount of information they need for others. This ’personal history’ creates ’trust capital’ and a stranger can become a friend.
Yuri Veselov, a sociologist at St Petersburg University
’In everyday communication, there is much less such aggregated information to build trust. The risks of online communication are also less, because in any case you can quickly exclude a user from your circle of communication,’ explained Yuri Veselov, a sociologist at St Petersburg University.
Today, online services not only enable you to communicate quickly and make online purchases, but also help you look for a job. About a quarter of respondents in St Petersburg say that networks are effective in finding a job, but for older people due to their low digital activity online services are practically useless for this purpose. As Yuri Veselov pointed out, for freelancers who are enthusiastic users of the Internet, the effect of social networks is most noticeable. In addition, people with primary vocational education are more likely to find work with the help of social networks than people with higher education.
Experts will discuss the influence of digitalisation on communication with people, job search and organisation of one’s life at the 6th St Petersburg International Labour Forum. The event will be held in a mixed format from 16 to 18 March 2022. The face-to-face part of the forum will be held at three venues; Tavrichesky Palace, St Petersburg University and Expoforum Exhibition Centre. The forum is organised by the Government of St Petersburg, St Petersburg University, the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States with the support of the Russian Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation and the Federal Service for Labour and Employment.