SU students rely on social media for news as trust in digital platforms grows
SU students rely on social media for news, trust in digital platforms grows
Orange Pulse surveys show general preferences by students toward digital news outlets and confidence in their credibility.
Social media continues to reshape how the public consumes news, overtaking legacy sources like TV and newspapers in recent years. The 72 Syracuse University students we surveyed at Orange Pulse seem to agree, with mediums like Instagram, X and YouTube being the main drivers for news consumption.
This week’s survey aimed to find out students’ preferred sources of news, their perceptions of credibility and the effects of internet tools on media consumption.
Social media leads the charge
According to the results, 85% of students surveyed rely on social media for information, far outpacing traditional news outlets like TV at 45%, radio at 22% and print media at 5%. Online news websites remain popular as well (44%).
While TV and radio are still relevant for a handful of the students surveyed, the interactive, real-time quality of social media platforms has made them the preferred source of news for most students.
Social media trust vs. traditional sources of news
Despite social media being the main source of news for a majority of students surveyed, nearly half (47%) view social media news as âless trustworthyâ compared to conventional sources. A slight majority (51.4%) perceive both as being equally reliable, with only one respondent believing more in social media.
The rising credibility of social media as a news source further reveals the shift in how digital platforms are viewed by students. Digital platforms may now be measuring up as equally trustworthy or more trustworthy than legacy media platforms for SU respondents. That may be because the platforms have boosted efforts toward improving the quality of news, such as fact-checking and user-interfacing directly, earning them more credibility.
Instagram, X and YouTube are captains in the clubhouse
Of the student respondents using social media, Instagram (74%), X (69%) and YouTube (54%) are the favorites, most likely because of their visual and interactive format. These platforms allow students to engage with the news instantly, which is often presented in an entertaining, yet informative way. While TikTok and Reddit are limited in their audience for news, they remain relevant within niche topics and communities, demonstrating the diversity of student preferences.
Media you consume vs. other media
It shouldnât come as too much of a surprise that the students surveyed have greater trust in the media outlets they use than in those they do not. On a one-to-ten scale, 86% of students gave high trust ratings (8-10) to the news sources they frequently use, compared with media they donât interact with as much. Nearly 80% of students rated these other media outlets as low as three and as high as five.
It seems, based on the survey, that respondents’ media source familiarity is closely tied to their trust in a source. The students surveyed are more trusting of the news media they are familiar with. This shows that students’ associations with their favorite sources of news are based on habit and choice.
Instagram, X, and YouTube lead as the principal sources of news, while the mainstream sources of TV and print are becoming less favored by SU students surveyed. Trends aside, both traditional news and social media remain reasonably trusted by students, which indicates that they do not automatically perceive digital media as being less or more trustworthy.
As social media continues to integrate into the lives of all news digesters, we at Orange Pulse wonder how digital media will grow in influence and credibility. The answer is yet to be seen, but for the 72 SU respondents, it seems social media takes the cake.