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A recent study on media consumption in the UK found that members of Generation Z are turning away from traditional news sources in favor of social media platforms. Despite this, they also reported having less trust in the content shared on social media.
The study also discovered that individuals aged 18-24 were twice as prone to obtaining their news from TikTok rather than the BBC.
Lee Cain, the former No 10 communications director and founding partner at Charlesbye, the communications firm which commissioned the study, said the findings indicated so-called Gen Z was ushering in a “post-truth media age”.
The report, Talking to the Nation: How To Speak To Modern Britain, saw Research Interactive, acting on Charlesbye’s behalf, conduct polling and focus groups with more than 8,000 people.
According to the research, believed to be among the biggest of its type in the United Kingdom, individuals were requested to categorize their most reliable source of information.
Out of the Gen Z participants, who are usually classified as individuals born between 1997 and 2012, 31% ranked television news channels the highest. Around a fifth of them prioritized newspapers, while 13% had high rankings for specific news websites.
Among so-called Zoomers, the top three commentators on social media were the most trusted, according to 11% of respondents.
However, a majority of individuals (over 33%) surveyed in the 18-24 age range reported that social media feeds were their main source of news, while approximately 20% indicated television, 13% chose newspapers, and 12% preferred news websites.
Older individuals were found to still primarily consume traditional media.
The report released on Wednesday revealed that almost 50% of individuals between the ages of 45-54 who consume news reported obtaining at least 40% of their news from TV, 16% from newspapers, and 20% from news websites.
This generation is ushering in a post-truth media age where they prioritise content over truth
Among those in that age group, only 12% indicated that social media was their main source of news.
According to Mr Cain, the younger generation (Gen Z) is primarily using social media as a source of news, even though they have less trust in it compared to traditional news sources.
“This generation is ushering in a post-truth media age where they prioritise content over truth.
This lack of trust could have significant consequences during a year of elections around the globe and unpredictable political situations – setting the stage for a surge of fabricated videos and false information campaigns.
Mr. Cain, previously a journalist, was a member of the Brexit referendum’s Vote Leave campaign.
Afterwards, he became the director of communications during Boris Johnson’s time as Prime Minister and played a role in the controversial decision to illegally suspend Parliament in 2019 amidst the debate over withdrawing from the European Union.
Former senior civil servant Sue Gray investigated the leaving farewell at Downing Street in November 2020 as part of a probe into the coronavirus partygate scandal.
According to the study conducted on behalf of Mr Cain’s company, adolescents are twice as inclined to obtain their news from TikTok compared to the BBC.
The study revealed that over 40% of individuals between the ages of 18-24 obtain news from the Chinese-owned social media platform at least once a day, while only 19% do so from the BBC.
According to the study, Gen Z individuals were found to visit Instagram (44%), Facebook (33%), and Elon Musk’s X (24%), previously known as Twitter, more often than the national broadcaster.
According to the report, individuals between the ages of 18-24 are the least involved with current events. Only one-third of them actively consume news through reading, listening, or watching to stay informed about current affairs.
In other areas, it was discovered that British citizens continue to be enthusiastic readers of news, with 75% of the population regularly consuming news and over 67% reporting to read a newspaper at least once a month.
People over the age of 55 are much more prone to staying updated on current events, with almost 90% of them doing so every day.
According to the survey, television is considered the most reliable source of news in Britain.
The source is not rewordable since it is a website.
