User:Lroulston/Social media as a news source

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Social media as a news source is the use of online social media platforms rather than moreover traditional media platforms to obtain news. Just as television turned a nation of people who listened to media content into watchers of media content in the 1950s to the 1980s, the emergence of social media has created a nation of media content creators. Almost half of Americans use social media as a news source, according to the Pew Research Center.

As a participatory platform that allows for user-generated content and sharing content within one's own virtual network, using social media as a news source allows users to engage with news in a variety of ways, including:

Using social media as a news source has become an increasingly more popular way for old and young adults alike to obtain information. There are ways that social media positively affects the world of news and journalism but it is important to acknowledge that there are also ways in which social media has a negative affect on the news that people consume such as false news, biased news, and disturbing content.

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Use as a news source by adults[edit]

Globally, data from 2020 shows that over 70% of adult participants from Kenya, South Africa, Chile, Bulgaria, Greece, and Argentina utilized social media for news while those from France, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan were reportedly less than 40 percent.[1]

According to the Pew Research Center, 20% of adults in the United States in 2018 said they get their news from social media "often," compared to 16% who said they often get news from print newspapers, 26% who often get it from the radio, 33% who often get it from news websites, and 49% who often get it from TV. The same survey found that social media was the most popular way for American adults age 18–29 to get news, the second-to-last most popular way for Americans age 20–49 to get news, and the least popular way for American adults age 50-64 and 65+ to get the news.

In 2019, the Pew Research Center found that over half of Americans (54%) either got their news "sometimes" or "often" from social media, and Facebook was the most popular social media site where American adults got their news. However, at least 50% off all respondents reported that the following were either a "very big problem" or a "moderately big problem" for getting news on social media:

  • One-sided news (83%)
  • Inaccurate news (81%)
  • Censorship of the news (69%)
  • Uncivil discussions about the news (69%)
  • Harassment of journalists (57%)
  • News organizations or personalities being banned (53%)
  • Violent or disturbing news images or videos (51%)

In a later survey from the same year, the Pew Research Center reported that 18% of American adults reported that the most common way they get news about politics and the election was from social media.

Use of Social Media Platforms (In General and as News Sources) by American Adults in 2019[2]
Social media platform Percent who use platform Percent who get news or news headlines on platform
Facebook 71% 52%
YouTube 74% 28%
Twitter 23% 17%
Instagram 38% 14%
LinkedIn 27% 8%
Reddit 13% 8%
Snapchat 23% 6%
WhatsApp 18% 4%
Tumblr 4% 1%
Twitch 5% 1%
TikTok 3% 0%

Additional source information shows that from politics and the United States presidential election in 2016, the popularity of fake news had grown to global attention. With this information, the study explains that more than 60 percent of adults receive their news form social media, the most popular being Facebook.[3] With the increase of fake news, and the large amount of adult participation on these social media sites, it made it much harder for those who were searching for news to find a source that they could find credible.

Another study found that adult participants found their own friends on Facebook to be a more reliable source of information online compared to a professional news organization. Although, when news was posted by a news organization online, they were then found more reliable compared to when they are shared by their online friends.[4] Showing that adult participants found that the news that was only posted on Facebook and social medias was much more credible to them than compared to other forms of information spreading. The study further explains that these outcomes have the potential explanation that motivation played a part in the ways they were affected. Motivation meaning that what the news topic was about.[4] This could have affected the way adult participants interacted with the different news sources, such as their online friends compared to a news organization, prominently because depending on the story, they want to have the correct information about the news from the most credible source.

Used as a news source by young people[edit]

Globally, there is evidence that through social media, youth have become more directly involved in protests,[5] social campaigns [6] and generally, in the sharing of news across multiple platforms.[7]

The amount of people who use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat as ways to seek information has increased significantly in recent years especially for people who are part of the younger generation. Source information shows that one third of people aged 18 to 24 use social media as their primary source of news. This number of social media users who utilise social media for news is more than online news sites and television news and printed news combined[8].

In the United States, Common Sense Media conducted a 2020 nationally representative survey of American teens (ages 13–18) that found that the most common way teens got the news was from personalities, influencers, and celebrities followed on social media or YouTube (39%), despite trusting this type of news source less than other forms, such as local newspapers or local TV news networks.[9] The most commonly mentioned sources on social media or YouTube included PewDiePie, Trevor Noah, CNN, Donald Trump, and Beyoncé.

Popularity and Trust of Different News Sources by U.S. Teens Ages 13–18 in 2020[9]
News source Percent who get news "often" from source Percent who trust information from the source "a lot"
Personalities/influencers/celebrities followed on social media or YouTube 39% 15%
News aggregators (e.g., Google news) 27% 18%
Digital media outlets/blogs (e.g., Buzzfeed) 21% 10%
Traditional TV news networks 16% 21%
Local newspapers/TV shows 13% 28%
Comedy shows (e.g., Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) 9% 7%
Podcasts 9% 6%
Traditional print/online newspapers 6% 22%

This popularity of using social media as a news source in the United States is consistent with previous data. Based on interviews with 61 teenagers, conducted from December 2007 to February 2011, most of the teen participants from American high schools reported reading print newspapers only "sometimes," with fewer than 10% reading them daily. The teenagers instead reported learning about current events from social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and blogs.[10]

Effects on individual and collective memory[edit]

The ability to accurately recall where one learned something is fundamental for evaluating its reliability or accuracy, or for being able to find the information at a later date. The integration of news on social media can result in the confusion of sourcing. For example, people misidentified certain televised advertisements that seemed like news, as actual news about 70% of the time[11]. A study published in March 2020 examined how different generations are able to remember the content and source of information they read on social media and traditional news sources. The study found that content read on social media was remembered better by both younger and older generations than traditional news content. [12]. The study also found that when the content and format of a news headline do not match one another, the participants were less likely to remember the source information. The adults in the older generation were more likely to think that a news headline was from a traditional source rather than a social media post. Therefore, it is not uncommon for people to forget where one found a piece of information, especially when that information was read on social media. These findings suggest that the disappearance of boundaries that exist between traditional news sources and social media platforms has possible implications for peoples memories on the source of information they are reading[13].

News media and television journalism have been a key feature in the shaping of American collective memory for much of the twentieth century.[14][15] Indeed, since the United States' colonial era, news media has influenced collective memory and discourse about national development and trauma. In many ways, mainstream journalists have maintained an authoritative voice as the storytellers of the American past. Their documentary style narratives, detailed exposes, and their positions in the present make them prime sources for public memory. Specifically, news media journalists have shaped collective memory on nearly every major national event – from the deaths of social and political figures to the progression of political hopefuls. Journalists provide elaborate descriptions of commemorative events in U.S. history and contemporary popular cultural sensations. Many Americans learn the significance of historical events and political issues through news media, as they are presented on popular news stations.[16] However, journalistic influence is growing less important, whereas social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, provide a constant supply of alternative news sources for users.

As social networking becomes more popular among older and younger generations, sites such as Facebook and YouTube, gradually undermine the traditionally authoritative voices of news media. For example, American citizens contest media coverage of various social and political events as they see fit, inserting their voices into the narratives about America's past and present and shaping their own collective memories.[17][18] An example of this is the public explosion of the Trayvon Martin shooting in Sanford, Florida. News media coverage of the incident was minimal until social media users made the story recognizable through their constant discussion of the case. Approximately one month after the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, its online coverage by everyday Americans garnered national attention from mainstream media journalists, in turn exemplifying media activism. In some ways, the spread of this tragic event through alternative news sources parallels that of Emmett Till – whose murder by lynching in 1955 became a national story after it was circulated in African-American and Communist newspapers.

Implications of Using Social Media as a News Source[edit]

Using non-traditional platforms such as social media as a news source is an easy way to gain access to numerous different types of information such as gossip blogs, sporting events, political matters, and business affairs. Using social media as a news outlet helps relieve the hardships of navigating through several websites and articles to find one source with information pertaining to the topic being explored. However, using social media as a news gateway also presents several implications which can be challenging to guide through. Some of the most current issues regarding using social media as a news source are:

  • Spreading of false news
  • Biased news articles  
  • News containing disturbing image or video content

The spread of fake news has become a complex challenge for social media platforms to mediate. False information is being spread by individual social media users and companies and organizations who use social media to communicate with their audience. Approximately 23% of social media users have reported that they have spread fake news[19], and fake news spreads faster than true news on social media, primarily because people share it amongst others. In today's day and age, almost 62% of adults get their news from social media platforms and that number is increasing[20]. There are two distinctions between news found on social media and traditional journalism. The first is that any user can create news on social media, regardless if it is fake or real. Then others are able to share it and spread that information to others rapidly. The second distinction is that the majority of social media platforms present news feeds to their users. The feeds consist of a mix of news from friends, followers, sources based on past activities or interactions and from advertisers who pay to have their content on users' feeds[21].

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have begun implementing fact-checking tools to ensure that the shared content is accurate and factual. However, this moderated news is not always done promptly and can take several days before being reviewed. According to a study published in the article "Understanding Patterns of Covid Infodemic: A Systematic and Pragmatic Approach to Curb Fake News," the author states that "based on the analysis of 225 pieces of fake news identified by fact-checking tools, Brennen, Simon, Howard, and Nielsen (2020) indicated that 20% of them were shared by politicians, celebrities, and other public figures".[22] With so much of this false information being shared by trusted politicians and honourable authorities such as doctors, there becomes a stress factor for users to decide who is trustworthy.

Another implication that social media as a news source has introduced is the rise in biased news. In recent studies, it has been stated that social media users tend to create an environment in which the pages and users they follow only reflect and reinforce the opinions of their own.[23] This phenomenon is referred to as an echo chamber and is fueled by confirmation bias. Research has found that “it is possible to determine the political leanings of a Twitter user by simply looking at the partisan preferences of their friends”.[24] When social media users rely on these networking platforms for their daily news sources, it is possible that they are only receiving information that is a reflection of what they want to see in society, further implicating the matter by ignoring issues that require being addressed.

A study done by Kimberly A. Bourne, Sarah C. Boland was conducted to investigate how social media and memory affects different age groups in adults[25]. The study focused on how much information young adults and older adults  (ages 32-42) could retain between social media posts and news articles that they had consumed in the same short span of time[26]. The study provided evidence suggesting that most adults retained more information from social media posts such as tweets from Twitter than the information presented to them by a bold news article headline[27]. Results from the study can show just how influential social media can be and how impactful it can be in spreading any kind of information.

Social media can and cannot be a reliable source for information. False news is not strongly regulated on social media platforms therefore it is easy and widely accessible for anyone to post and for many more people to consume that information that has been released[28].

Another common issue that has risen through the use of social media as a news platform is mixing information and altering or exaggerating a story or event. Social media being such an open, diverse and accessible place to display information has made it an easy way for information to be altered and changed, which can lead to false news and can even be dangerous depending on the target audience. Along with how common false news is on social media platforms, media is also consumed and retired at an alarming rate[29]. Often times headlines on social media are quickly discarded and it is very challenging to keep a subject relevant

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Usage of social media as a news source worldwide 2020". Statista. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  2. ^ Castells, Manuel (2004). The Network Society. doi:10.4337/9781845421663. ISBN 9781845421663.
  3. ^ Kim, Antino; Moravec, Patricia L.; Dennis, Alan R. (2019-07-03). "Combating Fake News on Social Media with Source Ratings: The Effects of User and Expert Reputation Ratings". Journal of Management Information Systems. 36 (3): 931–968. doi:10.1080/07421222.2019.1628921. ISSN 0742-1222.
  4. ^ a b Tandoc, Edson C. (2019-02-07). "Tell Me Who Your Sources Are: Perceptions of news credibility on social media". Journalism Practice. 13 (2): 178–190. doi:10.1080/17512786.2017.1423237. ISSN 1751-2786.
  5. ^ Valenzuela, Sebastián; Arriagada, Arturo; Scherman, Andrés (April 2012). "The Social Media Basis of Youth Protest Behavior: The Case of Chile". Journal of Communication. 62 (2): 299–314. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01635.x.
  6. ^ Lee, Chul-joo (March 2014). "The Role of Social Capital in Health Communication Campaigns: The Case of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign". Communication Research. 41 (2): 208–235. doi:10.1177/0093650212446332. ISSN 0093-6502. S2CID 36897725.
  7. ^ Sihombing, Sabrina Oktaria (2017). "Predicting intention to share news through social media: An empirical analysis in Indonesian youth context". Business and Economic Horizons. 13 (4): 468–477. doi:10.15208/beh.2017.32.
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  9. ^ a b Robb, Michael, B. (2020). "Teens and the news: The influencers, celebrities, and platforms they say matter most, 2020". Common Sense Media.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Marchi, R. (2012). "With Facebook, Blogs, and Fake News, Teens Reject Journalistic 'Objectivity'". Journal of Communication Inquiry. 36 (3): 246–62. doi:10.1177/0196859912458700. S2CID 145374582.
  11. ^ Bourne, Kimberly A.; Boland, Sarah C.; Arnold, Grace C.; Coane, Jennifer H. (2020-03-14). "Reading the news on Twitter: Source and item memory for social media in younger and older adults". Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 5 (1): 11. doi:10.1186/s41235-020-0209-9. ISSN 2365-7464. PMC 7072077. PMID 32172505.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  12. ^ Bourne, Kimberly A.; Boland, Sarah C.; Arnold, Grace C.; Coane, Jennifer H. (2020-03-14). "Reading the news on Twitter: Source and item memory for social media in younger and older adults". Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 5 (1): 11. doi:10.1186/s41235-020-0209-9. ISSN 2365-7464. PMC 7072077. PMID 32172505.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  13. ^ Bourne, Kimberly A.; Boland, Sarah C.; Arnold, Grace C.; Coane, Jennifer H. (2020-03-14). "Reading the news on Twitter: Source and item memory for social media in younger and older adults". Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 5 (1): 11. doi:10.1186/s41235-020-0209-9. ISSN 2365-7464. PMC 7072077. PMID 32172505.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  14. ^ Kitch, Carolyn (2002). "Anniversary Journalism, Collective Memory, and the Cultural Authority to Tell the Story of the American Past". Journal of Popular Culture. 36: 44–67. doi:10.1111/1540-5931.00030. S2CID 161675942.
  15. ^ Edy, Jill (1999). "Journalistic Uses of Collective Memory". Journal of Communication. 49 (2): 71–85. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1999.tb02794.x.
  16. ^ Pajala, Mary (2012). "Television as an Archive of Memory?". Critical Studies in Television. 5 (2): 133–145. doi:10.7227/cst.5.2.16. S2CID 156717273.
  17. ^ Motti Neiger, Oren Meyers, and Eyal Zandberg. On Media Memory: Collective Memory in a New Media Age. New York : Palgrave MacMillan, 2011
  18. ^ Barnhurst, Kevin; Wartella, Ellen (1998). "Young Citizens, American TV Newscasts and the Collective Memory". Critical Studies in Mass Media. 15 (3): 279–305. doi:10.1080/15295039809367049.
  19. ^ Indiana University; Kim, Antino; Dennis, Alan R.; Indiana University (2019-01-01). "Says Who? The Effects of Presentation Format and Source Rating on Fake News in Social Media". MIS Quarterly. 43 (3): 1025–1039. doi:10.25300/MISQ/2019/15188.
  20. ^ Indiana University; Kim, Antino; Dennis, Alan R.; Indiana University (2019-01-01). "Says Who? The Effects of Presentation Format and Source Rating on Fake News in Social Media". MIS Quarterly. 43 (3): 1025–1039. doi:10.25300/MISQ/2019/15188.
  21. ^ Indiana University; Kim, Antino; Dennis, Alan R.; Indiana University (2019-01-01). "Says Who? The Effects of Presentation Format and Source Rating on Fake News in Social Media". MIS Quarterly. 43 (3): 1025–1039. doi:10.25300/MISQ/2019/15188.
  22. ^ Gupta, Ashish; Li, Han; Farnoush, Alireza; Jiang, Wenting (2022-02-01). "Understanding patterns of COVID infodemic: A systematic and pragmatic approach to curb fake news". Journal of Business Research. 140: 670–683. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.11.032. ISSN 0148-2963. PMC 8627595. PMID 34866715.
  23. ^ "What is a Social Media Echo Chamber? | Stan Richards School of Advertising". advertising.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  24. ^ Menczer, Filippo; Ciampaglia, Giovanni Luca. "Misinformation and biases infect social media, both intentionally and accidentally". The Conversation. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  25. ^ Jang, Jeong-woo (2021-08-10). "Proximate or Primary Source? How Multiple Layers of News Sources on Social Media Predict News Influence". Social Science Computer Review: 089443932110325. doi:10.1177/08944393211032505. ISSN 0894-4393.
  26. ^ Jang, Jeong-woo (2021-08-10). "Proximate or Primary Source? How Multiple Layers of News Sources on Social Media Predict News Influence". Social Science Computer Review: 089443932110325. doi:10.1177/08944393211032505. ISSN 0894-4393.
  27. ^ Bourne, Kimberly A.; Boland, Sarah C.; Arnold, Grace C.; Coane, Jennifer H. (2020-03-14). "Reading the news on Twitter: Source and item memory for social media in younger and older adults". Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 5 (1): 11. doi:10.1186/s41235-020-0209-9. ISSN 2365-7464. PMC 7072077. PMID 32172505.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  28. ^ Jang, Jeong-woo (2021-08-10). "Proximate or Primary Source? How Multiple Layers of News Sources on Social Media Predict News Influence". Social Science Computer Review: 089443932110325. doi:10.1177/08944393211032505. ISSN 0894-4393.
  29. ^ Jang, Jeong-woo (2021-08-10). "Proximate or Primary Source? How Multiple Layers of News Sources on Social Media Predict News Influence". Social Science Computer Review: 089443932110325. doi:10.1177/08944393211032505. ISSN 0894-4393.
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