"Traditional media is in crisis, thanks to a combination of Trump administration attacks, corporate takeovers, and technological innovations. Social media sites compete for our attention by offering us addictive little bites: Outrage-bait tweets and short-form shock value TikTok videos, served up according to algorithms that track how long we linger and feed us more and more of what keeps us locked in (which is often what makes us angry)."
"While majorities of Americans over 50 regularly seek out the news, young adults largely do not-70% of them say they see political news simply because they come across it, which happens largely via social media. Nearly 40% rely on "influencers" for news, because, as one 21-year-old man told Pew, "If I agree with that person already, if I already have background with that person, then I'll probably trust him more than some news site.""
Traditional news faces multiple pressures from political attacks, corporate consolidation, and rapid technological change that have weakened established outlets. Social platforms maximize engagement through brief, emotionally charged content and algorithms that prioritize what keeps users lingering and angry. Younger audiences raised on smartphones show reduced attention for full news articles and often encounter political information incidentally via feeds. Only 15% of adults under 30 follow the news regularly, while older Americans still seek it out. Many young people rely on influencers for information, and some formerly mainstream outlets are shifting toward audience-pleasing narratives instead of strictly reporting facts.
Read at Slate Magazine
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