Rise of Influencers: Youth Look to Social Media Figures Not Journalists for News, Report Finds

Putting the dinosaur in 'dinosaur media,' a new report has outlined how traditional media is now competing with social media influencers to get the attention of young readers.

TikTok influencers and celebrities are becoming the primary source of news for young people, surpassing journalists, according to a report by the Reuters Institute.

The study, based on interviews with 94,000 people across 46 countries, revealed that 55% of TikTok and Snapchat users, as well as 52% of Instagram users, obtain news from "personalities" rather than mainstream media. Traditional journalists struggle to capture attention on newer platforms like Instagram*, Snapchat, and TikTok.

"Legacy media... now face a continual transformation of digital as generations come of age who eschew direct discovery for all but the most appealing brands, (and) have little interest in many conventional news offers oriented towards older generations' habits, interests, and values," said Reuters Institute director Rasmus Kleis Nielsen.

The report highlighted figures such as Matt Welland, a TikTok creator with 2.8 million subscribers, who discusses current affairs and daily life. The definition of "news" has expanded for young people, encompassing a wide range of topics from politics to sports, entertainment, culture, and technology.

While Facebook* remains the dominant source of news globally among social networks, its influence has declined with only 28% of users relying on it, compared to 42% in 2016. Facebook's shift toward prioritizing connections with friends and family, along with the preference of younger users for video-based platforms like TikTok and YouTube, likely contributed to this decline.

TikTok's reach among 18-24-year-olds stands at 44%, with 20% of them obtaining news from the app.

Traditional news outlets face a significant challenge as the number of users directly visiting their websites continues to decline, with only 22% doing so, down 10% since 2018. Instead, people increasingly rely on social media links for news consumption.

The report's foreword emphasizes that this shift represents a more fundamental change for the news industry than the transition from print to digital media. Younger generations have different preferences and are less interested in conventional news offerings that cater to older habits and values.

The report also revealed that while new audiences are aware of the risks associated with algorithm-based news consumption, with only 30% considering it a good way to obtain balanced news, relying on journalists fares even worse with just 27% confidence.

Media firms reliant on subscribers and ad revenue face challenges, as 39% of subscribers have either cancelled or renegotiated their subscriptions. However, the overall share of people paying for news across the 20 surveyed countries remained stable at 17% compared to the previous year.

*Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is banned in Russia for extremist activities.