Her Campus is on tour! In partnership with Future Caucus and DoSomething, the Her Campus Voices: Election 2024 Tour is coming to college campuses around the country to host conversations with students to get their insights and opinions as we approach the November election. First up is Michigan State University — here’s what MSU students had to say about why Gen Z prefers getting news from social media and their thoughts on media literacy.
News consumption has changed a lot since the first newspaper was published back in 1621. As society has progressed from newspapers to radio broadcasts to news stations over time, the world has become exponentially more interconnected over the years. Everyone has their personal favorite form of media to receive news from, but Gen Z is way less traditional and far more diverse when it comes to how they get their news as compared to the generations before. The reason for this is simple: the internet.
Although the internet has been officially around since 1981, it has continued to develop and become more ubiquitous in ways the original web-surfers could never have seen coming. The internet has changed how information is spread and stories are shared. Often, what we see is thanks to our friends’ likes, comments, and reposts — and thanks to algorithms, the news that we’re presented with can be specifically tailored to what we want to see… for better or for worse.
Here’s how some Michigan State University students get their news in the era of social media.
Social media is a leading source for news among Gen Z.
It shouldn’t come as a shock that Gen Z gets its news from social media. In a December 2023 Her Campus survey, 59% of respondents also reported they rely on social media as a source of news. Additionally, according to the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, at least 50% of Gen Zers see news on social media every single day.
There are quite a few reasons why Gen Z gravitates to social media to get their news. First of all, it’s an extremely convenient way to stay informed. As most of us have our phones practically glued to our hands at all times, news is available anytime and anywhere — and accessible to a wide range of people. On top of that, news delivered on social media tends to be easy to understand (with the main points distilled into bite-size, digestible tidbits from content creators who know what kind of content their audience likes to see) and share with others (all it takes is the touch of a button to send a link to a friend).
One key factor driving Gen Zers to get their news from social media is who is actually delivering the news. “It’s everyday people, or people who have dedicated their lives to spreading information and awareness about certain issues or stories,” MSU student Charlie B. says. While Gen Z anchors do exist on traditional news networks, their appearance and delivery style still mirror the way older generations prefer to get their news.
Naturally, these older generations often roll their eyes when they hear how Gen Zers primarily get their news. But TBH, many Gen Zers are rolling their eyes right back at them. “I think there’s definitely a generational divide in how people are consuming their news,” Charlie B. says. “Every time I go home, there’s a different news station on the TV and I’m sitting there [thinking], ‘This is not news, this is entirely political commentary.’ … I’m like, maybe you should think a little more critically about what these figureheads on TV are feeding you.”
But Gen Zers don’t trust everything they see.
On the flip side, misinformation is a huge issue on social media. With the easy spread of information comes an easy opportunity for people to falsify news they choose to share with their friends and followers online. “The way people read news on TikTok, it sounds so authoritative, and people can be straight lying to their camera or completely manipulating something, but you’re just looking at a person and they look trustworthy,” Madison R. says.
Many social media platforms make it simple to toggle filters and preferences to only receive information a user wants to see — usually, the algorithms take care of content curation for us. While this is a useful tool for social media apps to create a more personalized feed, it also means important news can be easily missed or overlooked because platforms are often serving users content that align with their specific values and beliefs and not exposing them to other points of view.
“A part of social media that scares me, personally, is algorithm bias because I know I interact with a lot of content that I agree with,” Alex B. says. “I know that’s being filtered a lot.”
Many Gen Zers believe media literacy is key.
One thing that students agree on is the importance of double-checking questionable news and leaning on reliable sources. “There’s a difference between getting your headlines on social media published by a reputable news source and some random [person] who’s just giving their opinion,” Madison R. says.
Maya* agrees: “[Social media is] how I gain initial knowledge about something, but I like to look into it more.”
By double-checking facts with reputable sources such as major media outlets and subject matter experts, users can avoid falling into the trap of fake or exaggerated news. “I think that that’s why it’s important to have … classic news sources and newspapers on social media … so you can have somebody more objective tell an entire story,” Sarah F. says. “I think it’s important for these [reliable sources] to be on social.”
Another way to ensure you’re seeing multiple viewpoints is by engaging with hashtags rather than being loyal to a specific creator. “I don’t want to put my trust in one or two people [because] they might have their own biases,” Belma H. says. “I like seeing hashtags … because you’re going to see opposing sides, or you can see people who maybe have a slightly different [take].”
Ultimately, ensuring you’re thinking critically about the content you’re taking in is extremely important. Without taking the time to process what you’re reading, it can be hard to distinguish falsified, sensationalized, or biased information from reality.
“Media literacy is so important,” Charlie B. says. And that doesn’t just go for this generation, she clarifies. “I think everybody’s parents should know about media literacy; they always tell us we shouldn’t believe everything we read on the internet — and right back at ’em.”