Social media is the world’s leading news source across all groups, overtaking conventional news sources for the first time, according to a sweeping report from Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
The Digital News Report, published Tuesday, asks 100,000 news consumers in 48 countries about where they get their information and while social media has been on the rise as an information source among young people for years, the report notes that this is the first time it has become a major source in all markets for all ages.
Fifty-four percent of the survey’s respondents said they used social media to consume news in the last week, compared with 51% who used legacy media, such as television, radio or news websites.
Globally, 30% of those surveyed said social media and video networks are their main source of news, up from 22% in 2020.
This number goes up to 52% if it just includes respondents aged 18-24, the study found, which is 32 points higher than the next most popular main news source.
