Social Media becoming the way in which people inform themselves about the world

We all know that technology is changing the way receive and send information. Emails are taking the place of sending letters, and autocorrect means that we are no longer spending long periods of time sending texts. The world is speeding up and the way in which we interact with each other is speeding up with it. According to Huffington Post, 54 percent of People now access the News through one social networking site, while 26% access their news across two sites, and 10 percent of us do so through three sites.

Bad news for TV?

A BBC News finding from June 2016 reports that young people are accessing the news through Social media platforms rather than using the TV as the first point of contact regarding events in the world and locally. This change indicates a definite shift in the argument that Social Media is taking away the traditional means of accessing information both locally and internationally.

According to a survey by Pew Research Centre, 62 percent of the US get their news from Social Media. This also means that sales of print newspapers have continued to fall, and, although young people are accessing the media through online outlets, they are also not willing to pay for the content they access.

According to a graph published by Reuters NewGov, people from Norway ranked the highest for paying for news content online, whilst amongst the lower ranking countries (Alongside Greece and Austria) was the UK.

Financial strain or a generation gap?

We all know that things can be expensive. So, whilst technology is a wonderful addition to many people's lives, there seems to be a clear correlation between financial status and the way in which people interact with news, but people changing the way they access and engage with news because of technology, or are they changing the way they access news because of financial situations? Perhaps, most importantly, why is it that, according to an article published in June 2016 by Harris Interactive, more people of the age range (55+) that prefer traditional media to get their news this being TV, Radio and Printed Newspapers?

and the younger generation (18-34) prefer social media. Could it be that it is more to do with generational gaps than financial wellbeing? Are younger people just more used to accessing technology that perhaps was not there before? As a society may we just be indulgent in a generation that is comfortable with consumerist culture.

There might be good news for those savvy with Social Media, however. The job opportunities available to those who are comfortable with media platforms of the new age include Vice President of Creative Services and Programming so perhaps the be and end all isn't with how people access what is going on around them, but also about the doors that Social Media is opening for all.