Disclosure – this is a collaborative post.
Social media has become an increasingly popular news source over the last decade. Platforms like Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram and TikTok are now delivering the news to users in their feeds in real-time. There are several key reasons driving this major shift in news consumption and habits.
More Convenient than Traditional News Sources
One of the main reasons people are turning to social media for news is that it’s simply more convenient than traditional news sources like newspapers, TV news, or news websites. Social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok are platforms people already use multiple times per day for connecting with friends, entertainment, etc. So when news stories pop up in their feeds, they are right there at their fingertips. People don’t have to go out of their way to tune into a news broadcast or actively seek out news stories. The news comes to them as they scroll through their social feeds. This makes staying up to date incredibly easy, which is why social media news consumption has grown exponentially in the last few years.
Algorithms Curate a Personalized News Experience
Another big reason is that social media algorithms curate an increasingly personalized news experience for each user. Based on the accounts a person follows, their interests and behaviors on the platform, the posts and news stories that appear at the top of their feed will be tailored specifically to them. This means the news they see is more likely to align with their viewpoints, interests, and preferences. Traditional news sources take a more generalized one-size-fits-all approach to the news. With social media news, people feel like they have a news source that “gets them” and delivers the stories they care about most.
Faster than Traditional News Outlets
Social media has also changed how quickly news spreads and how soon people can access breaking stories. Major news events often spread on social platforms in real-time, sometimes even before traditional news outlets have had time to report on the events. This means people who want to stay on top of late-breaking news often turn to social media first. Even after the news event, social platforms tend to report incremental updates in faster and more real-time fashion than traditional outlets which stick to formal reporting cycles.
More Visual News Experience
People increasingly prefer a visual news experience with photos, videos, graphs, etc. Social media lends itself well to visual news because of the photo and video-centric nature of platforms like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. These sites make visual news consumption second nature. Most traditional news outlets have been slower to evolve and rely more heavily on text-based reporting. The highly visual experience of social media news is simply more engaging and interesting for many people today.
Social media has transformed news consumption by making it more convenient, personalized, faster and visual. As these platforms continue to evolve, they will likely gain an even stronger hold as the new dominant news source for generations to come. People want news that is easy, relevant, and entertaining – and social media delivers that in a way traditional news media has struggled to match.
Disclosure – this is a collaborative post.
