Who is Getting Their News from Social Media?

In the same ways that traditional media is responding to the rise in social media by expanding their online presence, social and racial justice campaigns must continue to adapt as well.

By Jennifer R. Farmer

As you think about your communications strategy for 2024, social and digital media outreach must comprise a larger share of your plan. This is because more Americans are getting their news from social media, and digital media such as websites and online sources, is becoming more important.

According to the Pew Research Center, at least half of American adults get their news from social media at least sometimes. Facebook outpaces all other social media platforms in terms of where people turn to for news. Additionally, there is a gender and partisan divide in terms which social media platforms people turn to in order to get their news. Men are more likely to get their news from X, YouTube, and Reddit. Women are more likely to get their news from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Nextdoor.

And, according to Pew, “the majority of regular news consumers on many sites are Democrats or lean Democratic. No social media site included here has regular news consumers who are more likely to be Republicans or lean Republican, though there is no significant partisan difference among news consumers on Facebook, X or Nextdoor. You can read more here.

I think there are three main reasons why more people are getting their news from social media:

Declining trust in national media programs.

The Kerner Commission report in 1964 noted that race riots in 1964 were in part fueled by a news media that refused to see and accurately report on the plight of African Americans. African Americans and other people of color continue to challenge the veracity and the lens with which their communities are covered. The lack of newsroom diversity, in terms of who is behind the camera and in front of, also influences the level of trust marginalized communities have in the news. What is more, young people are increasingly skeptical of national media outlets. The World Economic Forum found that “The share of adults under 30 who express at least some trust in information from social media is at its highest level (tied with summer 2019), while the share with trust in national news is at its lowest level (tied with last year).” Local news is among the most trusted in terms of media sites, according to the same report from the World Economic Forum. We also see that the share of Republicans who distrust national media outlets is greater than that of Democrats, even though more than 40 % of people identifying as Republican and Democrat distrust national media sources.

Contraction in the mainstream media.

I also believe that the contraction in the media, fueled by widespread newsroom cuts and a desire to return more money to shareholders, also contributes to the fact that more people are turning to social media for their news.

Ubiquitousness of social media.

Finally, social media is addictive and it is ubiquitous. Even the most disciplined person may struggle to get on and get out. Given that social media platforms are so addictive and widespread, it is reasonable to see why people who are already browsing online platforms would look for their news there.

This research should inform how we communicate with our bases. More people are consuming information from their phones and tablets, and from social media. Our communications strategy should adapt to these shifts.

In the same ways that traditional media is responding to the rise in social media by expanding their online presence, social and racial justice campaigns must adapt as well. One of the ways we can do this is by building out our own content channels. We must go from distributing long-form reports and releases, to distilling the information in bite sized chunks on social media, and then directing traffic back to our sites for longer form content.