Remember gathering around the TV at 6:00 and 6:30 for the news? For most, those days are long gone. But it’s eye opening to discover what’s replacing the trend.
According to Pew Research Center and Knight Foundation, more Americans get their news from social media sites Facebook and Twitter. In fact, 63% of social media users say they get their news from these two sites. Compare that to 52% of Twitter users and 47% of Facebook users back in 2013. More than half of those Twitter users say they follow breaking news on their site. Twitter and Facebook notice and take advantage. Twitter is developing a news source called Project Lightning. This app will allow users to instantly upload videos, photos and other rich images. Meanwhile, Facebook teams up with news organizations to release Instant Articles. You can only find that app on Apple products. This trend crosses many demographics. However, Millennials and Gen Zers (those born after 1980) are more likely to use Facebook and Twitter as a premier news source than anybody else. ?But for all races/ethnicity, economies, and education levels are about equal. Not only that, Facebook and Twitter users are more likely to facilitate and receive political news than ever before. That should make the next sixteen months very interesting.
This is just the world we’re living in today. I can get news 24 hours a day because someone is posting about a news event, whether it be breaking news, weather, sports, politics, and especially entertainment/pop culture. Plus, this tells you the sorry state of mainstream media. Very few Americans trust mainstream media today. When most news media are owned by only six corporations, you get what you got. People are fed up with it and get their news from alternative sources. I know you get fake news and hoaxes on social media from time to time. But ask yourself: Is regular news these days any better?