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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)
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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).

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Japan's Nintendo Fans Test Switch 2 ahead of Launch amid Tariff Worries

An attendee plays Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London, Britain, April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
An attendee plays Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London, Britain, April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
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Japan's Nintendo Fans Test Switch 2 ahead of Launch amid Tariff Worries

An attendee plays Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London, Britain, April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
An attendee plays Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London, Britain, April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Nintendo fans were given a chance to try out the company's new Switch 2 gaming device at an event near Tokyo on Saturday, ahead of a release that some worry could be overshadowed by tariffs driving up prices.
"Since Mr. Trump became president tariffs have gone up so I am concerned about a price hike not just for the game console but for accessories too," said Hidenori Tanaka, 55, a real estate company employee, who attended the event.
Consumers around the world could face higher prices for electronic devices as tariffs imposed by the US President Donald Trump's administration on trading partners including China raise costs for companies operating global supply chains. While Trump has rolled back some tariffs, the threat of a damaging trade war still looms, Reuters said.
Gamers at the pre-launch event began lining up outside the Makuhari Messe convention center near Tokyo from mid-morning to play Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bonanza, and other titles on the Switch 2.
Despite the possibility of higher prices, there are early indicators of robust consumer demand for the successor to the Switch, which has sold more than 150 million units since 2017 and transformed Nintendo's fortunes.
The Kyoto-based gaming company said on Wednesday it had received 2.2 million applications in the lottery for Switch 2 in Japan and could not fulfil all the demand.
"Honestly, I didn't think I had a shot. Everyone on social media was saying they missed out, so I figured I would too," said Hyuma Hashiguchi, 28, who won the lottery to be among the first to buy the Switch 2.
Nintendo is holding hands-on events around the world including in New York, Berlin and Hong Kong.
The Switch 2 will sell for 49,980 yen ($350) for a Japanese-language-only version. In the United States, Nintendo initially paused pre-orders due to tariff concerns but later said it would maintain pricing at $449.99.