The BBC reported on June 16 that despite many people around the world finding the news depressing and boring, TikTok is making significant strides as a news channel.
According to a recent report by an institute at Oxford University, nearly 4 out of 10 people (39%) worldwide actively avoid the news. This is a sharp increase from 29% in 2017, marking an all-time high.
The increase in news avoidance is attributed to the overwhelmingly grim nature of recent news, which is dominated by war from Ukraine to the Middle East.
The survey was conducted from January to February, involving a total of 94,943 participants from 47 countries. In some countries, including the United States, interest in news has increased due to the elections, but the overall trend is declining.
According to the survey, 46% of people worldwide are extremely interested in news, a significant decrease from 63% in 2017.
In contrast, the response to actively avoiding news reached a record high of 39%.
Nick Newman, the lead author of the report, said, “People seem to be avoiding the news to protect their mental health due to the pandemic and war.”
However, online media like social media platforms are on the rise. While traditional media such as television and newspapers have seen a significant decrease in ratings and subscriptions, TikTok has surged.
In the U.K., nearly three-quarters of respondents said they access news online, compared to only 50% for traditional media like TV and a mere 14% for print media like newspapers.
Among social media platforms, TikTok’s rise has been particularly remarkable.
The most important social media platform for news is still Facebook. However, it is declining in the long run. YouTube and WhatsApp also remain important news sources, but they are in a phase of decline.
In contrast, TikTok is on a rapid rise. As a result, TikTok has surpassed X (formerly Twitter).
13% of the survey respondents said they use TikTok to watch news, compared to X which stayed at 10%.
The preference for TikTok among the younger generation was even higher. Globally, 23% of young people aged 18 to 24 responded that they use TikTok.
This appears to be because the younger generation greatly prefers TikTok’s short video news. TikTok videos can go from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
Newman added, “It seems that consumers prefer short video media like TikTok because they provide easy-to-use and attractive diverse content.”
