Social Media Platforms Are Top News Sources for British Teens, Report Reveals

The Instagram app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
The Instagram app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
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Social Media Platforms Are Top News Sources for British Teens, Report Reveals

The Instagram app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
The Instagram app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)

Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are the top three news sources for teenagers in the UK, according to a report on news consumption patterns.

The report by regulator Ofcom found that “British teens are increasingly ditching traditional news outlets, and resorting to Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to keep up with the latest news.”

The regulator also found that Instagram is the most popular news source for teenagers, used by 29 percent, followed by TikTok and YouTube used by 28 percent of teens.

It noted that BBC One and BBC Two, which were historically the most popular news sources for teenagers, have moved from the first to fifth place. Only a quarter of teenagers – 24 percent – have used these channels for news in 2022, compared to 45 percent, five years ago. ITV ranked in fourth place with 25 percent of the teens using it.

The report revealed that “TikTok has seen the largest uptick as a news source among the other social media platforms. Two years ago, 0.8 million UK adults used the video platform as a news source, and 3.9 million adults - or 7 percent - in 2022.” The increase is mainly driven by younger age groups, with half its users aged 16 to 24.

Fadi Ramzi, expert in digital media affairs, believes that “these findings conform with the results of a report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism released earlier this year. Reuters’ report highlighted a decline in people’s interest in news because of the negative Covid-19 developments, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and many other issues.”

“This decline has been accompanied by a higher turnout for social media platforms, which according to Reuters, have been used as news sources, topped by YouTube at the time,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Ramzi suggested that Instagram leads other platforms as a news source because “it’s used by many journalists and media figures.”

The Ofcom study showed that news organizations are having to compete with non-journalist TikTokers as a news source on the platform. For those who consume news on TikTok, their main source is other people they follow (44 percent), followed by friends and family (32 percent) and then news organizations (24 percent).



Amazon Launches Its First Internet Satellites to Compete Against SpaceX's Starlinks 

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off carrying Amazon's Project Kuiper internet network satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 28, 2025. (Reuters) 
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off carrying Amazon's Project Kuiper internet network satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 28, 2025. (Reuters) 
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Amazon Launches Its First Internet Satellites to Compete Against SpaceX's Starlinks 

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off carrying Amazon's Project Kuiper internet network satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 28, 2025. (Reuters) 
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off carrying Amazon's Project Kuiper internet network satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 28, 2025. (Reuters) 

Amazon’s first batch of internet satellites rocketed into orbit Monday, the latest entry in the mega constellation market currently dominated by SpaceX's thousands of Starlinks.

The United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket carried up 27 of Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites, named after the frigid fringes of our solar system beyond Neptune. Once released in orbit, the satellites will eventually reach an altitude of nearly 400 miles (630 kilometers).

Two test satellites were launched in 2023, also by an Atlas V. Project officials said major upgrades were made to the newest version. The latest satellites also are coated with a mirror film designed to scatter reflected sunlight in an attempt to accommodate astronomers.

Stargazers oppose the fast-growing constellations of low-orbiting satellites, arguing they spoil observations. Others fear more satellite collisions.

Founded by Jeff Bezos, who now runs his own rocket company, Blue Origin, Amazon aims to put more than 3,200 of these satellites into orbit to provide fast, affordable broadband service around the globe.

Elon Musk's SpaceX already has launched more than 8,000 Starlinks since 2019. The company marked its 250th Starlink launch Sunday night. More than 7,000 Starlinks are still in orbit some 300-plus miles (550 kilometers) above Earth.

The European-based OneWeb satellite constellation numbers in the hundreds in an even higher orbit.

Amazon already has purchased dozens of rocket launches from United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin for Project Kuiper, as well as others.

"There are some things you can only learn in flight" despite extensive testing on the ground, said Rajeev Badyal, the project's vice president.

"No matter how the mission unfolds, this is just the start of our journey," he said in a statement ahead of the evening liftoff.

The first liftoff attempt earlier this month was nixed by bad weather. It took until now to secure another spot in the launch lineup at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.