TikTok remains popular social media platform among young people

TikTok is the most preferred social media platform and is still gaining more ground especially among the young. This year’s report by Reuters Institute on Digital News indicates that most people nowadays prefer video-based content distributed on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube as opposed to other forms of content.

This puts more pressure on both ad-based and subscription business models of news organisations at a time when both household and company spending is being squeezed.

The platform that originates from China is the fastest growing social network according to Reuters’ survey where it is used by 44% of youth aged between 18 and 24. TikTok is mostly used in parts of Asia, Latin America and Africa. Users of this platform mostly follow celebrities and social media influencers while ignoring journalists and media houses.

Facebook on the other hand keeps loosing influence as a source of news. Even so the report indicates that people have generally lost interest in news and do not trust news owing to the disconnect between journalism and the wider public. Only 28% said they accessed news through Facebook in 2023 compared to 42% in 2016.

Twitter is said to have remained relatively stable in most countries after the acquisition by Elon musk, with the alternative use of nets like the extremely low Mastodon.

The Reuters DNR 2023 is the 12th second annual report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) and the 9th report to feature information on Portugal, in which 46 countries participate.