People are turning more and more to social media for information. However, this does not imply that no one is watching the news or reading daily papers any longer.
It’s simply that social media is much more accessible. With the COVID-19 epidemic and the majority of people self-isolating at home in 2020, many people turned to digital channels for news updates.
This post will show you how many people acquire their news from social media.
Using Social Media to Spread News
Traditional media channels are being challenged by social media. In a year marked by significant events such as the pandemic and the presidential election, many Americans looked to social media for information. Let’s look at how social media may help individuals stay informed.
1. Where Do People Get Their Information?
(Source: Pew Research Centre)
The majority of US citizens got their news via digital channels in 2020. In terms of prefered platforms, 68% said they utilised news websites and apps, 65% said they used search engines to seek for subjects of interest, and 53% said they used social media for news. According to study, 23% of people use social media on a regular basis, while another 30% use it sometimes to stay up to date on the newest news.
(Source: Pew Research Centre)
As previously said, 53% of Americans favoured to acquire their news via social media in 2020.
The majority of social media news users are young. According to detailed data, 42% of persons aged 18-29 acquire their news through social media sites. In other age categories, the number is substantially lower: just 25% of Americans aged 30-49, 15% of those aged 50-64, and 10% of those aged 65 and older use social media as a news source.
3. How Do Most People Get Political News?
(Source: Pew Research Centre)
Despite its declining popularity, television remains the primary source of political information for a great deal of Americans. Only 18% of Americans stated they primarily relied on social media news sources for political headlines when questioned. Meanwhile, 45% chose television as their prefered information source, with 16% choosing cable television, 16% choosing local TV, and 13% choosing network TV. With 25%, news websites came in second, with social media coming in third.
(Source: Pew Research Centre)
Although the fact that 18% of US people use social media for breaking news may not seem spectacular at first, it corresponds to nearly one in every five Americans.
Unsurprisingly, the age breakdown is comparable to that of general news.
The 18-29 and 30-49 age groups use social media for news significantly more than other age groups — 48% and 40%, respectively. In comparison, just 9% of Americans aged 50-64 and 3% of those aged 65 and over use social media to keep up with the newest political developments.
5. What percentage of people get their news from Facebook?
(Source: Pew Research Centre)
According to a 2020 Pew Research social media poll, Facebook is the most popular platform among online news consumers. According to the report, 36% of US people acquire their news from it.
Despite having a bigger user base, YouTube came in second with 23%, Twitter came in third with 15%, and Instagram came in fourth with 11% of Americans looking for news on the site.
Looking at the consumption of news across social media platforms in 2020, it’s worth noting that TikTok made its debut in the rankings. With 3% of US people using it for news, it is tied for seventh position with WhatsApp, just below Snapchat and LinkedIn (4% each).
6. How Will Millennials Get News in 2020?
(Statista)
Social networking is the new major news source for young Americans. 90% of US millennials received the most recent news from major social networks in 2020.
Other prefered news sources included 81% using news websites and apps, 78% listening to radio news, and 76% watching major-network news projects. surprisingly, 56% showed they still read news papers, while 54% said they learned about current events via listening to podcasts.
7. Is Social Media a Good News Source?
(Reuters Institute/Social Media Today)
There are various advantages and disadvantages of using social media for news.
Because social media is accessible to individuals all around the world, users may get the most up-to-date information as soon as it is uploaded. It has also given rise to social journalism, in which normal users submit breaking news stories before the conventional media does.
The finest examples of the good features of using social media for news are public people making personal announcements with their fans rather than the press. For example, Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their 2010 engagement on Twitter, where the mainstream media first learned about it. Three years later, they utilised the official Facebook page of the British Monarchy to announce the birth of their first child, Prince George.
Despite the numerous benefits of using social media for news, there is one huge disadvantage – the spread of false news. According to research, 56% of people globally feel that social media enables the dissemination of false information and conspiracy theories more simpler than it was previously.
(Source: Pew Research Centre)
Twitter is a fantastic illustration of how social media and news consumption sometimes go hand in hand. According to studies, more than half (59%) of its users obtain their news from the site on a regular basis.
With 54% of its users also obtaining news on Facebook, it is the second most news-oriented social networking site. In terms of news consumption across social media platforms, Reddit ranks third (42%), followed by YouTube (32%), YouTube (32%), and Instagram (28%). TikTok’s popularity skyrocketed in 2020, with 22% of its users claiming to acquire their news from the app.
(Statista)
Based to an April 2020 poll, 57% of US millennials check the news on social media at least once every day. Another 18% stated they do it several times per week, while 3% do it regularly. Furthermore, 4% indicated they do it many times per month, 4% once per month, and 4% less than once per month. Overall, data on how many people obtain their news via social media show that 90% of American millennials use social media to stay up to date on current events.
10. How Has Social Media Affected News?
(Source: Pew Research Centre)
Social media has transformed the way big news organisations disseminate information, and many individuals who use social media for news are aware of this. According to research, 62% of US adults feel the platforms they use have too much control over the news they consume.
Furthermore, 72.2% feel that attention-grabbing headlines are more important on social media than the quality of the actual content. As a result, even once-respected news organisations have resorted to employing dramatic titles in order to garner more hits and comments on social media.
Conclusion
With the worldwide epidemic and ease of access pushing an increasing number of individuals to migrate to digital in 2020, 53% of Americans looked to social media for the newest developments. Platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are presently among the most popular news sources in the country.
Given how many people obtain their news from social media and the present status of the globe, the importance of social media as an information source is only going to expand in the future.
