At the next stroke, the time will be TikTok
A Eurobarometer survey has found that young people are increasingly turning to social media such as TikTok and Instagram as their main sources of news. That is definitely newsworthy.
Generation Z, those born between 1995 and 2010, are those that will shape the future and they are clearly stating that “we are visual people.”
This means new practices in absorbing information, whether it is simple everyday issues or basic encyclopedic knowledge. However, it is also about their methods in keeping up with global developments on a daily basis.
“I do not have the time to sit down and watch the news. TikTok is the fastest way to stay informed,” disarmingly say many of today’s 20-year-olds. At the beginning, social media freed up knowledge and gave the average reader a podium. Later, they brought out an atmosphere of toxic commentary and offered new avenues for the traditional “sport” of propaganda. Now, they are radically reshaping the way young people and the tech-savvy are “reading” the news.
Social media are radically reshaping the way young people and the tech-savvy are ‘reading’ the news
If digital media want to follow these new trends, without abandoning their original role, they will have to tightly compile and visualize information, without sacrificing the depth of their reporting on developments. It sounds difficult, but there is no other choice, and it is the big gamble of the digital arena in the 21st century.
International studies corroborate our daily experiences. They have proven that those who exclusively use social media for information, drawing upon unverified sources that are not accountable for what they state, are vulnerable to all sorts of misinformation.
This is something that is particularly troubling in Greece. Firstly, because this is where we live. Secondly, as stated by the Eurobarometer report, the use of social and media blogs for daily news is significantly higher here, 46% in comparison to 26% in Europe. This is also true of the confidence in information gleaned from individuals, friends and groups on social media, 23% in comparison to 14%.
The relationship that the media develop with Gen Z is important. They are the next generation of businessmen, consumers and voters. Google, the company behind the omnipotent search engine, after internal reviews “conceded to” this new trend and decided to invest in visualizing information and expanding the reach of augmented reality.
Twenty-year-olds want to see what the world around them looks like. Their desire holds exciting opportunities as well as nightmarish dangers. I, for my part, have installed TikTok, to be able to look in the same direction at least.
