How Gen Z Gets Their News
Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) spends hours every day scrolling social media, and a significant portion of that is consuming the latest news. This shift away from traditional news outlets isn’t necessarily bad.
In fact, social media has become a distribution channel for traditional news outlets to deliver information quickly that can be accessed from anywhere.
The challenge is that anyone can post anything, creating an opportunity for misinformation to spread alongside accurate reporting. The question Gen-Z should be asking when consuming news on social media is: where is the story coming from? Is it a primary source, such as a police department, a traditional news outlet, or is someone simply picking up the story and putting their own spin on it (or is it entirely fictional)?
When coming across breaking news on social media, viewers shouldn’t always assume it’s true or complete. It takes evaluating the source, its credibility, and any underlying bias.
“I find many of my peers sharing information, and when asked where they heard it, the answer is simply TikTok,” said University of Miami environmental policy and journalism student Julia Horwitz. “It’s disheartening to be surrounded by so many smart individuals who lack the drive to validate the news they take in from social media.”
Many factors contribute to this issue. Algorithms are driven by engagement, so the more a person interacts with unreliable content, the more similar content floods their feed, gradually shaping their perception of reality. Also, sourcing is frequently absent altogether despite being one of the simplest tools for establishing credibility.
To stay properly informed as the newest generation of voters, employees and consumers, Gen Z must combat the algorithms and accessibility of social media. When scrolling news content on social media, it’s important to see what additional information is available from credible sources and verified news outlets.
Question the accuracy of the information you encounter, consider the different perspectives and facts presented, and determine what the true story is.
It’s taking the extra step of going beyond the source to educate yourself with enough information to form your own viewpoints, which is necessary with the daily bombardment of social content hitting our phones.
Haley Riggins is a Communications Assistant at Haj Media and a senior at the University of Miami, majoring in Public Relations.
