How Gen Z Gets Its News Might Surprise You
Just a decade ago, most people got their news from the “mainstream media” - TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Then, people shifted to Facebook and social media as a way to keep up with the news.
However, the youngest social media users - the members of Gen Z - have ditched even Facebook. They prefer to get their news from TikTok. And that has enormous consequences not just for news media organizations, but also for any brand that is attempting to reach the members of this elusive Gen Z audience.
New data from Pew Research on news consumption
The best data, as might be expected, comes from Pew Research, which has been profiling and detailing the social media habits of people for years now. According to a 2023 Pew survey, one-third of all U.S. adults under the age of 30 rely on TikTok for their news. Let me repeat that: one in every 3 young adults is turning to TikTok for their news.
In part, this is due to the growing lack of trust they have in the “mainstream media.” In fact, it’s hard for them to even say the words “mainstream media” without a certain amount of sarcasm or condescension. For them, news on TikTok is more “real.” It profiles the real stories of real people, and it’s geared to their way of viewing the world in quick soundbites.
We saw a good example of that during the recent presidential election. Both parties counted on TikTok to get the vote out, and to condense incredibly wonky, fact-filled policy statements into fun little tidbits and talking points for TikTok. Even when it came to the economy, people turned to TikTok.
The evolution of the news
If you’re above the age of 30, you probably don’t think of the news as being “fun” or “enjoyable” or “rewarding.” Instead, the news is something that you consume, largely out of a need to feel “in the loop” of what’s going on in the world. But it can sometimes feel like a chore, right? It often feels like something you should be doing, rather than something you want to be doing.
So, you might not be surprised to find that members of Gen Z expect the news to be fun and enjoyable. They want the news to be more than just “digestible” or “pithy.” They want it to be entertaining, and they want it to feel authentic. And, in many cases, they want to feel like they are playing a videogame of some kind, in which they are rewarded for consuming the news.
So what does it mean for content creators?
All of this, of course, poses a huge task for online content creators given the unenviable task of delivering the news to young members of Gen Z. How do you convey the complexities of what’s happening in the Middle East right now? How do you explain how tariffs could impact them for years to come? And how do you transform what has traditionally been a text-dominated industry (think newspapers and magazines) into a video- and image-filled industry?
There are several formats that have been early hits in attracting and keeping the attention of Gen Z. For example, “explainer” videos have been a great way to explain complex topics within a relatively brief period of time. And multimedia resources that integrate audio, video, and graphics have also become a fan favorite.
Interestingly, Duolingo is often cited as a good model for media organizations to follow. Learning a new language, just like consuming the news, can sometimes feel like a chore. But Duolingo has “gamified” the entire experience, and has opted for cute, cartoon-like avatars to deliver foreign language lessons.
For some people, that idea might sound terrifying. Are we really headed to an era of AI-generated cartoon avatars delivering the news via 20–second TikTok videos?
But don’t worry. If media organizations decide to design the news in clever ways, and turn it into a game, there’s good reason to think that the next generation will be more aware and more critical of what’s going on around them than older generations, who are used to being spoon-fed the news by “trusted” news sources.