Facebook is becoming less important as a source of news compared to other social media platforms, a new study by Reuters Institute Digital News Report shows.
The report indicates that the decline is as a result of Facebook pulling back from news to more video content like TikTok, YouTube shots and Instagram Reels.
"TikTok and YouTube are increasingly capturing much of the attention of younger users," the report stated.
It further states that users of TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat tend to pay more attention to celebrities and social media influencers than they do to journalists or media companies when it comes to news topics.
"This marks a sharp contrast with legacy social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, where news organisations still attract most attention and lead conversations."
TikTok has marginally grown with 44 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds regularly using the platform for news content.
However, the report states that weekly news usage for Twitter has remained relatively stable in most countries following Elon Musk’s takeover.
"At the same time, preferences by audiences to directly visit news websites continue to decline."
Additionally, according to the report, audiences continue to selectively avoid important stories such as the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis as they cut back on depressing news and look to protect their mental health.
"Generational and platform shifts have made things even more difficult for a news industry trying to deal with the fallout from a pandemic, a war in Europe, and a global squeeze on household spending."
