When most “news” is opinion based speculation this makes sense.
People are burnt out. I am worried about the trend of people getting news from places like tiktok going up
Half the problem is that a lot of news is not news worthy. Opinion and conjecture or what some bloke said is treated equally as things like mass shootings. Abd half the time the news is lacking in depth or analysis. I hate that Last Night Tonight is more insightful than the evening news.
The authors of the institute’s report said there was evidence that 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”.
Bingo. However,
But the figures are much higher for young users. One in five (20%) 18 to 24-year-olds get news from TikTok, up from 15% last year. The report says the platform “is the fastest growing social network in our survey”. However, it is not necessarily news from traditional news providers. TikTok users are more likely to get news on the platform from celebrities, influencers or ordinary creators than mainstream news outlets or journalists.
This is far more worrisome.
Yes, bad news for democracy or society in general. Just look at Russia to see how a politically disengaged population fares.
I also wonder how much post-fact agendas have played their part.
