The traditional news media has long grappled with the challenges posed by the digital revolution, leading to a well-documented crisis in journalism. However, news organizations now face a more profound transformation driven by a generation that has grown up relying heavily on various digital media platforms.
Data from this year’s Reuters Institute Digital News Report reveals an accelerated shift towards digital, mobile, and media-rich environments. Today, news content is predominantly delivered through social media and increasingly popular video-led platforms like TikTok, rather than the perceived formal and antiquated outlets of “legacy” media such as newspapers and television.
The decline in consumption of traditional television news and print formats continues unabated, while online websites struggle to engage news users, despite the tumultuous times we live in. An essential benchmark of this shift is the preferred gateway for accessing news. Across the 46 countries surveyed in our annual report, social media has steadily gained popularity each year, often at the expense of direct access through traditional news websites or apps. Access through search engines and other aggregators has also seen a slight increase. It is crucial to note that direct connection remains strong in some markets, particularly in Northern Europe, where news interest and trust are relatively high. However, in other regions, notably parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa, social media and aggregators dominate as the primary gateways, leaving news brands heavily reliant on third-party platforms for traffic.
Generational disparities play a significant role in this transformation. In nearly every country surveyed, younger users display a lower likelihood of directly accessing news websites or apps and are more inclined to rely on social media or other intermediaries for news consumption.
The chart below demonstrates the changing preferences in the UK, with the over-35 age group (blue line) exhibiting minimal shifts in direct preferences over time, while the 18-24 group (pink line) significantly reduces its usage of news websites or apps.
This shift reflects how the generation that has come of age during the social and messaging app era exhibits distinct behaviors as they enter adulthood. While dependence on social media is growing, it is worth noting that it is not solely confined to the traditional networks. Across all age groups, Facebook’s significance as a news source has declined. In 2023, only 28% of respondents reported accessing news via Facebook, compared to 42% in 2016, based on data from 12 countries tracked since 2014. This decline can be attributed to Facebook’s reduced emphasis on news content and the rising popularity of video-based networks such as YouTube and TikTok among younger users.
Twitter usage is also reportedly declining due to recent changes implemented by Elon Musk, although our survey indicates relatively stable weekly reach overall. TikTok emerges as the fastest-growing social network, with 44% of 18-24 year-olds using it for various purposes and 20% for news consumption, a five-percentage-point increase from last year. Our findings also indicate that TikTok is most heavily used in parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Moreover, users of TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat tend to pay more attention to celebrities and social media influencers than journalists or media companies when it comes to news topics, highlighting a sharp contrast with more established social networks like Facebook and Twitter, where news organizations still command attention and lead discussions.
While news organizations have made attempts to establish a presence on TikTok, many struggle to adapt to its more informal tone, where creativity is vital in attracting an audience. These platform shifts pose additional challenges for publishers, as they often require the creation of expensive bespoke content, with limited linking opportunities back to websites or apps. Moreover, these shifts reflect a broader transition from reading to watching or listening to news content online. While all age groups still express a preference for reading news online due to its speed and control, younger demographics show a greater inclination towards watching or listening to news content, as depicted in the chart below. Consequently, this group consumes a larger quantity of short-form videos and podcasts, according to our data.
Over more than a decade, our research has documented the adoption of digital media by all age groups alongside more familiar formats such as TV and print. However, we are now witnessing the emergence of a generation of social natives unbound by traditional definitions of news.
As our previous research has shown, younger demographics expect news to be engaging, participatory, and available on their terms, within the networks and platforms where they spend their time. Trust cannot be taken for granted; it must be earned, not only by journalists but also by all content creators.
Despite the challenges concerning trust, attention, and business models, this is the media environment that the public increasingly chooses for themselves. To maintain relevance and connection with a wider audience, journalists and news media must find their place within this evolving landscape.
By Impact Lab
