Nearly half of TikTok users under 30 use the app for news
By Meg Dowell
If you tend to use the TikTok app as a source of news -- political or otherwise -- you are not alone. Many young adults, and even those who are older, use TikTok as a news source.
According to the Pew Research Center, about half of TikTok users under 30 say news is a significant reason they spend time on the app. For political content specifically, about 48& of TikTok users between the ages of 18 and 29 seek out information about related issues on the app.
This is not surprising considering many people of this age (for context, I'm not much older) don't tend to gravitate toward traditional news sources like network news TV stations. A lot of people around this age may have grown up watching network news because it's what their parents watched. But I, for example, don't even have cable anymore. It's just not the way we tend to seek out specific types of information.
And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it is also important to proceed with caution when seeking out political news or otherwise on TikTok or other forms of social media. Find reputable accounts that verify their information and give context for the stories they are covering. Always attempt to verify the information you do consume on social media even if you trust the source you got it from. And always, ALWAYS fact-check before sharing news you see online.
Apps like TikTok have paved the way for independent journalists and others to share information back-and-forth more easily. That itself is a good thing. However, while TikTok may be the first place you learn a fact or piece of news, it should not be the only place. Misinformation and disinformation, especially in the months leading up to another U.S. presidential election, are common and often difficult to identify.
Consume your news however you want, but be mindful and smart about what you do with it.