In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms. Free speech ideals and heated political themes prevail on these sites, which draw praise from their users and skepticism from other Americans.
Digital news has become an important part of Americans’ news media diets, with social media playing a crucial role in news consumption. Today, half of U.S. adults get news at least sometimes from social media. When it comes to where Americans regularly get news on social media, Facebook outpaces all other social media sites.
The social media sites that journalists use most frequently for their jobs differ from those that the public turns to for news.
In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms. Free speech ideals and heated political themes prevail on these sites, which draw praise from their users and skepticism from other Americans.
Today an overwhelming majority of Americans get news at least sometimes from digital devices. Explore the patterns and trends that shape the platforms Americans turn to for news
Local newspapers have been hit particularly hard by the transition to digital news consumption in recent years, with many forced to shutter their doors permanently.
The share of Americans who say they often get news from a podcast is quite small, at just 7%; 16% of adults say they sometimes do.
Fully 70% of U.S. adult Twitter news consumers say they have used Twitter to follow live news events, up from 59% who said this in 2015.
While newspapers have seen steep job losses from 2008 to 2020, digital-native news organizations have seen considerable gains.
Americans inhabited different information environments, with wide gaps in how they viewed the election and COVID-19.
About half of U.S. adults say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes,” and this use is spread out across a number of different sites. Facebook stands out as a regular source of news for about a third of Americans.
More than eight-in-ten U.S. adults say they get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet “often” or “sometimes.”
As news outlets morph and multiply, both surveys and passive data collection tools face challenges.
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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
