In a world of social media, news spreads like wild fires. It passes from person to person until it finally reaches your online feed. 

According to Forbes, “Instagram news consumers were 11% of the social media population. Twitter was statistically tied at 12%. Just as we found in 2005 for Carnegie Corporation, the shift away from traditional news media sources is being led by the younger generation, in this case people under 25 years old.”

As younger generations move away from the TV for their news, it will create a path for social media to use this to their advantage. Most teenagers nowadays get their information from sources like Twitter. From then they can research and look more into a topic if they wish.

There are new stories on Twitter everyday, it’s no wonder people turn to it for information. While some accounts are biased, there are those that are just trying their best to adapt to this new age of social media. An example of this would be ABC News on Twitter, which is a verified account. 

It is evident that there is a shift from traditional news sources (newspaper, television, etc.) to social media. These news sources will have to learn how to adapt or else they will get left behind in the past. 

Getting news off of social media is an acceptable way to provide yourself with new information. Not everything is always fact-checked, but not everyone wants to watch the news. There are plenty of verified users that have good, factual information that can be trusted at first glance. 

There should be easier ways to fact check evidence though. It is so easy for people to make up a story and claim it as fact. If you need sources to fact check your work, you can use sites such as Politifact, Factcheck.org, or Snopes.

An example of this is how Jeffree Star, a famous youtuber, had a rumor that he was having an affair with Kanye West. This news spread quickly causing hate for both parties involved even though there was no solid proof. 

As a society we have a long way to come with this but the future is online and there have to be ways to make sure that situations like this do not happen as often as they do. We will continue to grow, change, and learn from past mistakes. When getting your news make sure to double-check it before you believe it.