Research shows that the way young adults (ages 18 to 29) consume the news is changing rapidly.
First, begin with this finding. Pew Research shows that just 15 percent of young adults follow the news “all or most of the time,” compared with 62 percent of those who are 65 and older. Additionally, these young adults are more likely to seek out entertainment news and less likely than older Americans to get news about government, politics, science and technology, and business and finance.
The research also shows that young adults who do follow the news continue to shift away from legacy media and instead embrace social media for their information. Three-fourths of adults under 30 are more likely to get their news on social media platforms. And TikTok is the most popular site, with about two billion users worldwide every month.
TikTok and other social media platforms are home to influencers, individuals with significant followings who post ideas, observations, and pitch products. One 21-year-old told Pew researchers, “If I agree with that person already, if I already have background with that person, then I’ll probably trust him more than some news site.”
In addition, TikTok algorithms analyze what a user likes and then adjust the feeds accordingly. If you like short videos on a specific health topic, then you will get more of them. The “news” then becomes a personalized experience.
One could argue that personally customized information is helpful because it tailors the experience to individuals’ wants and needs. However, there are downsides.
It constricts the users to information silos and echo chambers. The individual receives content that reinforces what they already believe, even if that information is false or misleading. That reduces the opportunity for users to be exposed to contrary views that may broaden their understanding of an issue.
TikTok has guidelines in place to try to reduce distortions and deceptions. Its rules prohibit misinformation and deceptive behavior, and it requires “clear labeling when AI or editing is used to depict people or scenes.” But with an estimated two billion users worldwide and between one and two million creators, it is nearly impossible to effectively monitor all the content. That leaves users with the challenge of trying to sort out the content for accurate information.
For example, a study by the University of Chicago on health posts on TikTok concluded, “There is high-quality and factual information out there on social platforms such as TikTok, but it may be difficult to distinguish this from information disseminated by influencers that can actually be harmful,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Christopher Roxbury.
Another problem is that the rapidly increasing sophistication of AI is making it harder to detect deep fakes. NPR reported last July, “Millions of TikTokkers have watched some version of a video in the past week that falsely stated that ‘they’re installing incinerators at Alligator Alcatraz.” One of the videos attracted 20 million views. An AI generated fake video of a woman telling a reporter she sold her food stamps for cash spread widely on other social media platforms.
What all this means is that it is increasingly difficult for individuals, especially young adults who get their news on TikTok and other social media platforms, to be well-informed and armed with fact-based information. It fuels the concern that we are descending into a post-truth era of agenda-driven influencers, disinformation and deep-fake creators.
Perhaps TikTok and other social media platforms will get better at preventing misinformation from being widely distributed, but with each improvement comes more creative ways that content creators can sidestep the guardrails. Meanwhile, information consumers, especially young people who are the next generation of decision-makers on everything from health to public policy, face the increasing challenge of separating fact from fiction.