The social network TikTok is increasing its influence as a source of information among young people between the ages of 18 and 24 around the world, while Facebook sees its impact reduced, according to a study published this Wednesday by the Reuters Institute.
The study analyzes the data generated by a survey carried out by YouGov, between January and February 2023, to more than 92,000 people from 46 countries, including this year for the first time India, Thailand, Indonesia, Nigeria, Colombia and Peru.
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Led by journalist Nic Newman, this work highlights that recent “shocks” such as the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine have “accelerated structural changes towards a media environment dominated by digital and mobile.”
With inflation affecting the cost of living worldwide, in addition, the report generally presents a decline in the state of payment methods, with up to 47% of subscriptions canceled or “reset” in the case of the US. , 32% in the UK and 34% in Germany.
Likewise, an average of 48% of respondents globally show a pronounced interest in current affairs, a decrease from 63% in 2017.
Interest in Facebook decreases
The new generations are “digital natives” and prefer videos and more “entertaining” content to print compared to previous generations.
In the field of social networks, Facebook continues to be the leader in offering information to the population as a whole, but its influence decreased to 28%, compared to 36% in 2020, and the weight of Instagram increased (it grew 3 percentage points since 2020, up 14%) and TikTok (increases 5 points, up 6%).
Among young people aged 18 to 24, the Chinese social network is particularly influential: 44% of them use it and for 20% it is a source of current information.
trust and influence
Especially Asia, Latin America and Africa have become the great consumers of news on TikTok, which is expanding its influence in the “global south”, according to the Reuters Institute report.
The network “has played a role in disseminating both information and disinformation in recent elections in Kenya and Brazil, and has grown strongly in parts of eastern Europe, where the conflict in Ukraine has raised its profile,” the work notes.
Regarding the level of trust in the information received through the media, it stands at 40% in all the markets analysed.
The United States bans the social networks TikTok and WeChat
The highest levels of trust are registered in Finland (69%) and Portugal (58%), while the lowest are found in countries “with high levels of political polarization” such as the United States (32%), Argentina (30%) , Hungary (25%) and Greece (19%).
To Spain, the Reuters Institute assigns a level of confidence in the news of 33%, while in Latin America, Brazil registers 43%, Mexico 36%, Chile 35%, Colombia 35%, Peru 33% and Argentina 30%.
With information from Efe and Reuters Institute.
