Young people trust YouTubers more than politicians, poll suggests

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Young people trust politicians less than they do influencers on social media to tell them the truth about current affairs, a poll released on Sunday suggested.

According to a survey of more than 13,000 students at elementary, middle and high schools, their trust in the president — a separate category from politicians among eight groups asked about for the study — was particularly low.

The president received 1.99 out of four points, which was lower than 2.05 for politicians in general. The professional group the students said they would trust most was teachers (3.26). Prosecutors and police came second with 2.80 points, followed by judges (2.70), journalists (2.34), religious leaders (2.25) and influencers (2.23).

The study, conducted jointly by the state-run Korean Educational Development Institute and the Education Policy Network, also demonstrates their perceptions about discrimination and success in Korean society.

Asked about on what grounds people are discriminated against, 50 percent picked money as the main reason, followed by school grades (44.8 percent), disabilities (44 percent), gender (36.9 percent) and race (38.5 percent).

Nevertheless, 36.5 percent said “living a happy life” is a more important personal success than “making a lot of money” (31.2 percent) or having a desired career (14.8 percent).