A Summary of the "TikTok-ization" of News

Media has shifted substantially in terms of how accessible it is to society over the last few years. With the rise of popular social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, people are spending more time online than before. A Pew Research Center statistic puts this into perspective, saying, “Overall, nearly all teens – 96% – report using the internet daily,” a significant increase from previous years. As a result, news outlets and platforms have revised their approach, directing a chunk of their effort to social media. This strategy has its effects, especially on adolescents, as much of their news comes solely from bite-sized, algorithmic videos. All things considered, the “TikTok-zation” of news has both benefited and harmed adolescents' understanding of the world, and this summary will analyze this phenomenon thoroughly.

The newfound benefits and harms of the “TikTok-ization” of news arose for a multitude of reasons. For starters, social media apps’ basic functions are tailored to individual interests; this is why everyone has a “For You Page.” This means that instead of seeing every perspective of a news story, adolescents usually see the side that matches their curiosity. Additionally, news platforms want their stories to be pervasive, so instead of following clean-cut journalism, they create videos with trending songs, rapid editing, and text displays. Finally, the increased accessibility of social media platforms allows more peer-like news content to be published, rather than by traditional news networks. The Pew Research Center amplifies this perspective: “About two-thirds of those who regularly get news on TikTok (68%) say they ever get news from influencers or celebrities.” While these factors can positively impact adolescents' online identity, many downsides are apparent.

Now, both sides of this story—the benefits and negatives—must be addressed. Their significance highlights three benefits and three negatives, showcasing this concept’s broad scope.

The “TikTok-ization” of news has created more community involvement and engagement, pushed for representation, and empowered adolescents to take action. Life is filled with complicated concepts, and the news, in particular, is a hub for them. Understanding these circumstances can be difficult for anyone; however, young individuals especially struggle to comprehend them. This is not misfortune; it is solely something to acknowledge. As a result, news platforms saw the value social media offers adolescents. Through small, short-lived clips, news platforms can condense issues into straightforward content, making it “easier to encounter and more inviting to young audiences,” according to Lan on Medium.com. Beyond this, social media creates a flow of content that represents all stories, opinions, and people, with few content limitations. This can help underrepresented and marginalized communities and individuals who usually do not get the spotlight, as well as adolescents who struggle to hear these stories. Ultimately, this benefits multiple parties and shows adolescents how bias can lead to disproportionate media coverage of crucial issues. Lastly, social media bolsters connection through its convenience. Social media news, particularly, connects individuals who would never normally interact by providing convenient chat sections and messaging outlets. For adolescents, this communication source allows a way to learn new ideas about approaching civic challenges, global misfortunes, and necessary initiatives, while bridging differences between those around them, new or old.

On the other hand, social media news has downsides that significantly affect the way adolescents understand the world, themselves, and life. At the forefront, social media news is highly unregulated and unmanaged. Online users can post and publish anything; sometimes, individuals exploit this and produce unfiltered, unverified content. However, in these circumstances, the publishing user is not at fault for what gets put on whose "For You Page”; the platform's algorithmic nature creates the misinformation cycles by producing a rewards system—likes, shares, comments—for users. A study by a research team at USC’s Marshall School of Business found that “Due to the reward-based learning systems on social media, users form habits of sharing information that attracts others' attention,” even if they know the information is false. Adolescents are even more susceptible than adults, so understanding one’s intentions behind reposting and publishing news is crucial. Moreover, when information about certain topics is shortened, nuanced and critical details can be forgotten. This can falsely lead adolescents to form opinions and beliefs about global situations without the entire context. This can additionally weaken adolescents’ understanding, leading to “us vs. them” and hyper-fixation perspectives. Lastly, adolescents’ analytical thinking abilities are impaired when constantly served easy media. This impacts adolescents not only online, but also in their day-to-day lives. From reading comprehension to objective analysis, social media news suffocates the skills adolescents usually acquire inside and outside of school to become educated members of society. This can create lifelong challenges in careers and personal life, and while it starts as simple laziness, it can quickly expand into one’s entire approach. 

Weighing the benefits and harms of social media news is a strenuous task; truly, how does one conclude? Currently, there is no definitive solution to this issue; however, strategies to mitigate the negatives are available. With that, the media is always fluctuating. Trends come and go, influencers say their highs and goodbyes, and most importantly for this story, news becomes visible and then dissipates. All in all, social media news is something to be aware of, especially as adolescents. Approach every video, clip, or image with curiosity and questioning; it makes the biggest difference and can truly redefine this posterity’s view on social media news.