Research Question
For my project, I chose to do research built around this question: How has social media changed how people consume their news and altered their perceptions of political news?
I chose this question because I am interested in social media's impact based on discussions from my previous Media, Self, and Society classes and I also think that with an election coming up social media's impact on politics is worth looking in at.
I chose this question because I am interested in social media's impact based on discussions from my previous Media, Self, and Society classes and I also think that with an election coming up social media's impact on politics is worth looking in at.
Findings
- According to Elisa Shearer and Katerina Eva Matsa from the Pew Research Center, 68% of American adults say that they use social media to get at least some news.
- However, more than half of those people think that the news they are seeing on social media is probably inaccurate.
- Use social media as a news source for other reasons: convenience, interacting with people, the speed, etc.
- Use social media as a news source for other reasons: convenience, interacting with people, the speed, etc.
- Younger age groups use social media as a news source more than older age groups.
- People 30 and older tend to use Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
- Those between 18 and 30 mainly use Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Reddit.
- People 30 and older tend to use Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
- Between 2016 and 2018, social media had overtaken newspapers as a way to get news and closed the gap on radio, although television is still easily the most popular way to obtain news.
- Television is used primarily by 65 and 81 percent among those ages 50-64 and 65+ get their news
- Only 16 and 31 percent of those aged 18-29 and 30-49 get news often from television.
- Television is used primarily by 65 and 81 percent among those ages 50-64 and 65+ get their news
- These younger generations are using social media 36 and 22 percent of the time to obtain their news, showing that social media's importance is rising.
- People like the many-to-many interaction that social media provides instead of the one-to-many because it provides a place to have an open conversation.
- Rise of social media changed way news is reported by mainstream media.
- Twitter can help news go viral earlier than intended.
- For example, Osama Bin Laden's death was tweeted out by someone before it was meant to be officially announced.
- For example, Osama Bin Laden's death was tweeted out by someone before it was meant to be officially announced.
- Journalists use social media as a platform to connect with followers more.
- BBC Political Correspondent Laura Kuenssberg was one of the first journalists to this and she was able to build a large following.
- BBC Political Correspondent Laura Kuenssberg was one of the first journalists to this and she was able to build a large following.
- Twitter can help news go viral earlier than intended.
- There is a large impact on people who come across news incidentally while scrolling through social media.
- This can have negative impacts on people who only see headlines while scrolling and do not read the article because headlines can be misleading.
Overall, I came to the conclusion that social media has helped spread news rapidly and made it more easily available. However, I also found that the many-to-many platform that allows anyone to say anything can have negative impacts. This can lead to people only receiving news from their political party's point of view instead of getting both sides.
Works Cited
Alfred Hermida, Fred Fletcher, Darryl Korell & Donna Logan (2012) SHARE, LIKE, RECOMMEND, Journalism Studies, 13:5-6, 815-824, DOI: 10.1080/1461670X.2012.664430
Fletcher, Richard, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen. “Are People Incidentally Exposed to News on Social Media? A Comparative Analysis.” New Media & Society, vol. 20, no. 7, July 2018, pp. 2450–2468, doi:10.1177/1461444817724170.
Newman, Nic. Mainstream Media and the Distribution of News in the Age of Social Media. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, 2011.
Shearer, Elisa. “Social Media Outpaces Print Newspapers in the U.S. as a News Source.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 10 Dec. 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/10/social-media-outpaces-print-newspapers-in-the-u-s-as-a-news-source/.
Shearer, Elisa, and Katerina Eva Matsa. “News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2018.” Pew Research Center's Journalism Project, 31 Dec. 2019, www.journalism.org/2018/09/10/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2018/.
Fletcher, Richard, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen. “Are People Incidentally Exposed to News on Social Media? A Comparative Analysis.” New Media & Society, vol. 20, no. 7, July 2018, pp. 2450–2468, doi:10.1177/1461444817724170.
Newman, Nic. Mainstream Media and the Distribution of News in the Age of Social Media. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, 2011.
Shearer, Elisa. “Social Media Outpaces Print Newspapers in the U.S. as a News Source.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 10 Dec. 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/10/social-media-outpaces-print-newspapers-in-the-u-s-as-a-news-source/.
Shearer, Elisa, and Katerina Eva Matsa. “News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2018.” Pew Research Center's Journalism Project, 31 Dec. 2019, www.journalism.org/2018/09/10/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2018/.