The argument that the media do not report the truth circulates among many social media feeds. News sources are sometimes depicted as machines offering their audiences a limited frame on reality. But is that the truth or are fewer people reading the news and blaming a lack of knowledge on a product they choose to ignore? Reading the daily newspaper used to be a personal way that many people started their days. However, that trend has been on the decline; after a short boost in readership from 2011 to 2013, daily newspaper readership is again approaching its modern-day low in 2010. As readership continues to fall, ad revenue for the papers falls too, dropping to $16.4 billion in 2014, which is the lowest it has been in over a decade. The highest was 2005, with $47.7 billion from ad sales.

Many members of younger generations prefer gathering their news from social media. With 900 million visitors every month, Facebook remains one of the most effective ways for stories to spread. In fact, as of 2014, 61 percent of millennials report getting their news from Facebook alone. Without even factoring in other social media platforms, more than half of a generation has committed to a single social media platform as their primary news source.

One problem with that, comparing  social media versus a newspaper, is that the newspaper offers a reader a complete product. A reader can choose to ignore certain sections of the paper, but they are still generally aware of what else is out there. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s wife, Mary, recently said on Morning Joe that she likes to ignore negative publicity but will still read all the headlines in the paper to at least be aware of what is going on in the world. 

Facebook, on the other hand, follows trends. It uses an algorithm to promote what topics are being discussed most: “This algorithm identifies topics that are popular now, rather than topics that have been popular for a while or on a daily basis,” according to the company. So rather than being presented what editors and journalists believe are the most important articles of the day, many social media users are presented the topics that are popular on social media. Since around 70 percent of high school students and around 70 percent of college students actively use Facebook, most of the trending topics are likely decided by 14-24 year olds. They will usually pick up on breaking news stories, but other than that trends can be unpredictable. These numbers explain why, on the day after Walmart announced it was suing Puerto Rico for its tax hike, a majority of people are discussing J. K. Rowling’s post comparing Donald Trump to Lord Voldemort.

There is no turning back to a pre-social media world. As of August 2015, 72 percent of all internet users use Facebook. The same PEW survey reveals that 82 percent of users between the ages of 18 and 29 are active on Facebook. So the question is not how to avoid social media but how to use it more efficiently—how to find news instead of trends. Most news sources have Facebook pages and Twitter feeds for viewers to follow, but these often cater their posts to what generates the most traffic. Though a person can find relevant news on these feeds, they will often find many posts that correlate with trending topics. However, if these sources can attract new observers to their websites, it does open the opportunity for an increase in loyal readers.

Thomas Edison once said, “What is a college? An institute of learning. What is a business? An institute of learning. Life, itself, is an institute of learning.” The age of social media is just over a decade; there is still room to grow. It will take an effort by both the writers and the readers to continue to work with one another and generate the most effective way to communicate news.

This information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Opinions expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice.