The masses currently prefer social media and mobile apps for up-to-date, firsthand information. These digital tools surpass traditional media, according to the Digital News Report 2026.

It is a fact that video platforms and social media are the top source of information compared to television and even specialized websites.

According to the study, “based on a survey of nearly 100,000 digital information consumers in 48 markets worldwide, trust in news has fallen to 37 %, its lowest level since it began being measured in 2015, with particularly sharp declines in the Philippines, Ireland, Thailand, Peru, and Poland.”

With the development of AI, there has been an increase in the use of chatbots to stay informed, especially among “young people, digital content creators, and a growing preference for video formats at the expense of text and audio.”

Currently, the main news source for 30 % of respondents globally is social media and video platforms, compared to 22% five years ago. “Increases were detected in 22 of the 48 markets analyzed, including countries like Germany, where they had historically played a smaller role.”

Young people between 18 and 24 years old (56%) have not read a newspaper regularly. Furthermore, “news consumption via television and media websites and apps has declined in all age groups, except for those over 55.”

In addition, 77 % of respondents use news videos on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, making this source of information more popular than television in most of the markets analyzed, except for Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Content creators or influencers are consulted by 27 % of those interviewed, although they are not their sole source of information.

M.Pino

Source: swissinfo

(Reference image source: EmbedSocial on Unsplash)

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