{"id":49493,"date":"2025-11-17T20:09:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T00:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/?p=49493"},"modified":"2025-11-17T20:09:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T00:09:32","slug":"1-5-of-adults-in-the-us-now-resorting-to-tik-tok-for-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/opinion\/2025\/11\/17\/1-5-of-adults-in-the-us-now-resorting-to-tik-tok-for-news\/","title":{"rendered":"1\/5 of adults in the US now resorting to Tik Tok for news"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fifth of adults in the United States now turn to TikTok for their news, an app that blurs the lines between credible reporting and catchy content, raising the question of whether a scroll through of short videos should really replace traditional sources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In just a few years, TikTok has shifted from a dance-challenge app to a major source of information for millions. According to the Pew Research Center, <\/span>\u201c<\/span>More than half of TikTok users (55%) now say they regularly get news on the platform, up from 22% in 2020.<\/span><\/a>\u201d <\/span>That jump shows how fast people, especially younger audiences, are ditching traditional sources like news broadcasts, radios, and even long-form digital news websites for quick bite-sized videos.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although TikTok makes news feel more dramatic and easy to digest, it also comes with risks. The app’s endless feed mixes serious topics with jokes, trends, and heavily edited content, making it harder to separate facts from opinions or misinformation. Unlike established news organizations, many TikTok creators aren’t trained journalists, and the pressure to get views can encourage oversimplified, dramatic, or even inaccurate reporting.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Pew goes into detail about the certain age ranges affected most in recent years. Stating that ages 30 to 49 are also using TikTok for news more than before and about one quarter of them now get their news there regularly, compared to only 2% five years ago. Older adults use it much less: only 10% of people ages 50 to 64, and just 3% of those 65 and older, say they regularly get news from TikTok <\/span>(Pew)<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, the rise of TikTok news reflects a bigger shift in how people want to consume information: quickly, visually, and in a way that explanations from creators on their feed feel more trustworthy than listening to a distant newsroom anchor. Accessibility should not be confused with credibility. The growing reliance on TikTok raises an impotent question for today’s media consumers: is convenience worth the risk? Pew’s findings make it clear that the trend isn’t slowing down. As more Americans scroll for updates, media literacy- knowing how to check sources, verify facts and question what you see- matters more than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

TikTok can absolutely be a starting point for news. But if one scroll can shape public opinion, political beliefs, and everyday decisions making, then maybe it\u2019s time to rethink relying on an app designed for quick entertainments as our main window into a fast-changing world.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A fifth of adults in the United States now turn to TikTok for their news, an app that blurs the lines between credible reporting and catchy content, raising the question of whether a scroll through of short videos should really replace traditional sources.\u00a0 In just a few years, TikTok has shifted from a dance-challenge app…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11],"tags":[],"staff_name":[1541],"class_list":["post-49493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-top-stories","staff_name-scarlett-mccoy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49493"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49516,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49493\/revisions\/49516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49493"},{"taxonomy":"staff_name","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/staff_name?post=49493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}