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The Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand how TikTok users, X (formerly Twitter) users, Instagram users, and Facebook users perceive news on those platforms. For this analysis, we surveyed 10,287 adult users in the United States from March 18 to 24. , 2024.
All of those who participated in the survey are members of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel recruited through a random national sampling of residential addresses. In this way, almost all American adults have a chance of being selected. The survey was weighted by combining the pattern of web users with the knowledge of ATP members who do not use the web, and weighting the combined body of knowledge to be representative of all U. S. adults based on gender, race, ethnicity, party affiliation, education, and other categories. The research in this report is based on those who use the platforms of interest. For more information on how this is done, see the survey methodology. Learn more about ATP’s methodology.
The following are the questions used for this report, as well as the answers and method of the survey.
This is a report by the Pew Research Center’s Pew-Knight Initiative, a program jointly funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight. Find similar reports online at https://www. pew. org/pew-knight/.
Social media platforms are a vital component of the U. S. data regime. In the U. S. , half of U. S. adults report receiving data at least on social media in general. But express platforms differ particularly in terms of structure, content, and culture. A new survey from the Pew Research Center shows that how Americans access data on four major platforms — TikTok, X, Facebook, and Instagram — varies widely.
Key findings from this include:
This task is designed to perceive how people’s reports and perspectives differ between social networking sites and apps.
The research covered four social media platforms: TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram. The questions on the platform were identical.
This report focuses on news on social media. To learn more about how other people interact with politics on those platforms, read the couple’s report.
Here are some of the key findings from a new Pew Research Center survey of about 10,000 U. S. adults conducted in March 2024. This is one of two Pew Research Center reports on behavior and attitudes on other social media platforms from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a program jointly funded through The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. Foundation and James L. Knight.
The rest of this review takes a closer look at those models and other comparisons of the 4 platforms. For a more in-depth look at the individual platforms, check out the chapters on TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
Information ingestion is more common in some places than others. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that Facebook is ahead of all other social media sites as a source of data for Americans, with 30% of U. S. adults saying they get data there. news on Instagram (16%), TikTok (14%) or X (12%).
Some sites are used more than others. But there are also differences between users who share data who report receiving data on the site in a normal way. According to a new survey conducted by the Center, some X users say they get data there normally, compared to more modest shares on TikTok (40%), Facebook (37%) and Instagram (30%).
The new survey also asked users of each platform whether keeping up with the news was a primary or secondary explanation for why they use the platform, or don’t use it at all. X is the only platform where most users say getting data is an explanation for why use it: about two-thirds of X users (65%) say yes, and a further 25% say keeping up with news is a necessity. One of the main explanations for why they use X.
Less than a portion of TikTok, Facebook and Instagram users say receiving data is a primary or minor explanation for why they use the site. And only 15% of TikTok users, 7% of Facebook users, and 8% of Instagram users say it’s a primary explanation why.
People more often cite other reasons for each platform. To learn more about the other reasons given for each platform, read “How Americans Navigate Politics on TikTok, X, Facebook, and Instagram. “
While a small proportion of users of those platforms say that obtaining data is one of the main reasons they use them, a much larger number across all platforms report seeing news-related content on them.
Opinions and funny content about existing events are not unusual across all four platforms. Two-thirds or more of users on each site say they’ve seen explicit reviews from others about existing events or funny posts referencing existing events. On Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, users are less likely to report noticing news articles (either posted, reposted, linked, or captured via a screenshot) or data about a news occasion at the time it occurs. X is the only platform studied where at least three-quarters of users see all of those types of data.
Taking into account the other 4 news-related content surveyed, a large majority of users across all platforms say they have already noticed at least one. Approximately 8 out of ten Instagram users see at least one of the news-related content (82%). as do 90% of TikTok users, 91% of Facebook users, and 92% of X users.
X stands out as a position to see breaking news: 75% of users say they see data on the latest news in real time, compared to a smaller percentage of users on Facebook (58%), TikTok (55%) and Instagram (44). %). ).
X and Facebook users are the ones who are likely to see news articles on the platform, with 79% of X users and 74% of Facebook users saying this is the case. Americans who use TikTok (57%) and Instagram (52%) are less likely to report seeing news articles.
On all sites, younger users are much more likely to see information about the latest news. On Instagram, for example, roughly a portion of users under 50 say they see the latest news about events as they unfold (51%), 29% of those 50 and older. And in X, where most teams of both ages watch the latest news on the platform, younger users are even more likely to watch it than older users (79% of users under 50 vs. 50). 69% of those over 50 years of age).
Many of the questions in this survey were asked only to users who report receiving data about the site on a normal basis. The rest of this review looks through this lens at comparing the reports and reviews of those news consumers on TikTok, X, Facebook, and Instagram.
Among those who get data on each platform, also called “data consumers,” the types of resources from which they download this data differ from platform to platform.
Consumers of information on Facebook are the most likely to say they’ve already heard from friends, family and acquaintances (85%). The majority of Instagram news consumers (72%) also claim to have done so; Friends and family circle are the most common source of information for users of information on Facebook and Instagram. Americans who report receiving updates on TikTok (48%) and X (26%) on a regular basis are less likely to report. Receive news from friends, family and acquaintances there. This is by far the least common data source for X news consumers among the resource types measured in the survey.
Most news consumers report receiving data from news outlets or sleuths on all 4 sites. X-rated news consumers are the most likely to say this (80%), compared to about two-thirds of news consumers on Facebook (68%). TikTok (67%) and Instagram (65%) that say the same thing.
TikTok news consumers are more likely than those on other platforms to report getting information from influencers and celebrities, with around two-thirds (68%) saying they already do. The majority of those who get news on Instagram (59%) say the same.
There are only slight differences between platforms in the proportion of other people getting data from nonprofits or advocacy organizations: About a portion of the site says yes.
While more than a portion of news consumers on all 4 sites say they get news from others they don’t know (beyond those discussed above), those on TikTok (84%) and X (75%) are the most likely to say this. . . . For TikTok news consumers, those types of accounts are the most common source of information.
Some of those resources are more likely to be used through other groups, regardless of the platform they use. For example, Democratic news consumers on most sites are more likely than their Republican counterparts to obtain data from nonprofits or advocacy organizations.
Amid broader considerations about the accuracy of data on social media, the maximum data consumers on each of the four major social media platforms studied say they at least see data on the platform that turns out to be wrong. This includes about a quarter or more of all sites that report seeing erroneous data very or quite often.
Consumers of data about X (37%) and Facebook (33%) are the most likely to say they see data that is inaccurate.
Americans see social media platforms as influencing, at least to some extent, the news they see on them.
About three-quarters of news consumers on Facebook (74%) and Instagram (72%) — whether owned by Meta — say the platforms influence at least some of the data they see on them, adding about three-in-ten who say the platforms have a lot of influence. On those sites, news consumers with a higher level of education are more likely to say that platforms influence the news they see.
About two-thirds of X-rated news stories (66%) and 61% of TikTok news stories say sites influence at least some extent what they see.
While users retain some control when it comes to deciding who they stick to on each site, computer algorithms also have an effect on user flows on many social media platforms, and tech corporations have various policies on how they moderate content, such as misinformation and violent images. Some sites allow users to change their settings, though previous studies by the Center have found that very few Americans feel they have much control over what they see online.
There are notable differences of opinion between parties regarding data on certain platforms. Democrats who get data on Xs (including those with Democratic leanings) are more likely than their Republican and Republican counterparts to say they see it as wrong. data incredibly or somewhat (42% vs. 31%).
Democratic consumers of news about X are also much more likely than their Republican counterparts to say that X influences the news they watch, at least in part (80% vs. 55%).
On Facebook, the opposite is true: 38% of Republican news consumers on Facebook say they see misinformation, compared to 29% of Democratic news consumers on Facebook. Republican news consumers on Facebook are also more likely than Democratic news consumers. news feeds on the site to say they believe Facebook influences at least some of the news they see there (80% vs. 68%).
There’s little to no partisanship in reviews on Instagram and TikTok through those two measures.
The survey asked Americans who say they get data at each site if they think the data they get there is more commonly data they would have received elsewhere, or if it’s data they would have discovered only on that site.
Data consumers on TikTok (35%) and X (29%) are the ones who are likely to report that the data they get on those sites is unique, i. e. , data they would have noticed elsewhere.
A smaller proportion of news consumers on Instagram (21%) and Facebook (14%) are viewed as a percentage. It’s not unusual for data consumers on Instagram and Facebook to report that the data they see isn’t unusual data they’ve received (34% and 36%, respectively).
Across all four sites, about four in ten or more news consumers report that the data they see is an equivalent mix of news they would have received elsewhere and news they would not have received elsewhere.
More than a portion of news consumers on 3 of the 4 sites surveyed feel at least exhausted by the amount of data they see on those sites. This includes about one in five news consumers on Facebook (23%), X (20%) and Instagram (17%) who say they feel this way incredibly or quite often.
TikTok news consumers are slightly lower (11%) or less frequent (36%) likely to feel exhausted by the news they see on TikTok.
Democrats who get news about X report that they occasionally feel exhausted by the news there, at a much higher percentage than consumers of Republican news on the platform (31% vs. 11%).
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