Teens shun traditional news channels for TikTok and Instagram
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Loading... - Arbi Mounir
- 21 Jul 2022
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The number of people consuming news content on TikTok has increased from 800,000 in 2020 to 3.9 million in 2022.
For the first time, Instagram is the most popular news source among younger people - used by 29% of teens in 2022 - with TikTok and YouTube close behind.
But print, TV and radio news outlets still dominate in older age groups.
The growth in news consumed via TikTok is being driven mainly by younger age groups - half of users consuming news on the platform are aged 16-24.
The number of people consuming news via the video sharing platform is now similar to the number using the Sky News website and app.
TikTok users who took part in the study said they get more of their news from "other people they follow" (47%) than from news organisations' own accounts (24%).
Increasingly, news stories also originate on the platform.
"And while youngsters find news on social media to be less reliable, they rate these services more highly for serving up a range of opinions on the day's topical stories," he added.
Despite its newfound popularity though, less than a third of young people (30%) asked in the study said they actually trusted the news content they found through TikTok.
On Instagram, the BBC was the most followed outlet for users who consume news on the platform, with a 45% reach. Sky News (22%), the Lad Bible and Buzzfeed (both14%) also performed well on the platform.
Around 60% of Instagram users who consume news said they followed a public figure, while 44% said they followed at least one specific journalist.
That teenagers are using Instagram and TikTok for news is probably not a surprise. It was perhaps more surprising that, right up until 2020, BBC One remained their number one source of news and still remains top of the list for "most important source". The research shows 59% say they still watch some news on TV.
However, for anyone interested in which news sources are most influential, this new research makes interesting reading.
The decline of printed newspapers has been apparent for many years, but the drop in the last two years has been startling. In 2020, 35% of the population (the vast majority over the age of 55) were still reading a paper, but that's now dropped to 24% - a drop of almost a third.
It appears deliveries and popping out for a paper are some of the former daily habits which were disrupted by Covid.
And for those hoping digital readership was replacing print, it's not good news. Online reach for newspaper websites also dropped slightly (from 20% to 19% of the population).
However, it's worth noting that this misses out a crucial part of the news landscape. The news agenda is still, in many ways, driven by what appears on front pages and news websites. Read More...
