There was a time when the British followed the news thanks to the BBC, the Guardian or the news channels all the time. Those days seem about to be over…because of TikTok. Decryption.
Few followers of traditional media, the younger generations are no less keen on current events. But they do not inform themselves like their elders. They actually favor social networks like Facebook, Twitter and recently TikTok. The Chinese platform is now used by 7% of Britons to follow information, according to a recent report by Ofcom. In comparison, only 1% took to TikTok for news in 2020.
Unsurprisingly, 16-24 year olds are the most likely to check out the latest “news” on TikTok. Born with digital technology, they do not use the same tools to inform themselves as their elders. “Today’s teenagers are less and less inclined to pick up a newspaper or watch TV news channels; they prefer to keep up to date by scrolling through their social networks,” explained Yih-Choung Teh, director strategy and research at Ofcom, Guardian.
They also don’t have the same expectations of the media as previous generations. They favor video content, which is easier to share and comment on than written articles, and seek instant, daily access to the news. No wonder this young audience is turning to TikTok for information. If the application has become known for its viral dance challenges and “lip-syncing” (playback, in French), it now hosts many educational videos on the news of the moment.
TikTok
TikTok is a video clip sharing social network that has quickly established itself as a leader in this field, available as a mobile application, you can take it with you anywhere.
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Downloads:
3496 -
Release date :
07/21/2022 -
Author :
TikTok -
Licence :
Free License -
Categories:
Video-Communication
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Operating system :
Android, Online service All Internet browsers, Windows 10/11, iOS iPhone / iPad
TikTok, a trustworthy source of information?
Some are tailor-made by traditional media in search of a new audience. But these are not the ones UK TikTok users watch for the latest “news”. They prefer to see what the people they follow on the platform (44%) or their relatives (32%) say about it. A few press titles such as Sky News, BBC News and ITV News have however managed to stand out on TikTok, by offering an editorial offer adapted to (young) users of the social network. Result: Sky News is followed by more than 1.8 million Internet users. the DailyMail is the only British media to be ahead of the news channel on TikTok, with its 3.8 million subscribers.
Hot topics are more popular than others on TikTok. First, the war in Ukraine. The platform has become a central player in the information war between Ukrainians and Russians. The former used it in particular to document the advance of Russian soldiers as well as the destruction and abuses they committed on the ground. The Kremlin uses it, meanwhile, to share a lot of false information about the conflict.
The Johnny Depp trial against Amber Heard was also followed by millions of Internet users on TikTok. The accusations of the two ex-spouses have been the subject of a very large number of videos on the platform. The hashtag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp has 21.3 billion views, against only 36.4 million for #IstandwithAmberHeard.
While a large number of Britons go to TikTok for information, they are aware that they risk encountering false information there. This is reflected in the figures: only 30% of Internet users who use the social network for informational purposes consider it a credible source, according to the Ofcom report. Respondents place much more trust in traditional media than in social networks, except for teenagers aged 12 to 15. Proof, if one more was needed, that the younger generations do not inform themselves like their elders.