Youth prefer TikTok as their main news source over traditional media

In a sweeping shift in news consumption trends, TikTok has solidified its position as the top news source for teenagers according to a recent report by Ofcom, the UK's independent communications regulator, and surpassing traditional media platforms.

The "News Consumption In The UK 2022/23" report from Ofcom, an authority overseeing communications and media industries in the UK, unveils an intriguing trend that among 12 to 15-year-olds, TikTok reigns supreme as the preferred news platform, with a staggering 28% of teenagers using the app for news updates. Not far behind, YouTube and Instagram hold strong positions at 25% each.

This surge of TikTok as a news source is emblematic of a transformation in the way young people ingest and search for news.

Ofcom's comprehensive study further illustrates the news consumption habits of older teens and young adults (16-24 years), a whopping 83% of these younger individuals prefer to consume news online, notably via social media as well on their mobile devices. This pattern contrasts significantly with the traditional media preferences of older generations, with diminished reliance on TV (47%), radio (25%), and print newspapers (16%).

For this group of older teens and young adults, the most popular news sources among has Instagram leading the pack as the most-used singular news source (44%), closely trailed by Facebook (33%), Twitter (31%), and TikTok (29%).

A similar report conducted by Reuters Institute in the U.S which survived around 94,000 people, revealed that fewer people trust traditional media, with more turning to TikTok for news as the younger generation pays more attention to influencers and social media personalities than journalists.

As TikTok's ascent as a news platform continues to reshape the media landscape, these reports offer a compelling narrative of how younger generations are reshaping their information consumption habits. This paradigm shift emphasizes the growing influence of digital personalities and underscores the evolving role of social media as a primary gateway to news for young minds.