Americans Move from Legacy to Digital News Sources

The main topics of media intake have shifted and include entertainment, politics, and sports.

The days when Americans’ news sources were dominated by broadcast and print media are fast receding into the past. Newspapers and TV networks such as ABC, CBS, and NBC are now a fraction of the media universe.

According to the Pew Research Center, “More than eight-in-ten U.S. adults (86%) say they get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet ‘often’ or ‘sometimes,’ including 60% who say they do so often…. Americans turn to radio and print publications for news far less frequently, with half saying they turn to the radio at least sometimes (16% do so often) and about a third (32%) saying the same of print (10% get news from print publications often).”

A different Pew study found that people on Twitter in 2021 tweeted on entertainment 29% of the time, politics 26%, and sports 12%. Americans will always want to comment on the latest movie or song.

Twitter is an especially important platform. Even more so since it was recently bought by billionaire Elon Musk, who vowed to end its notorious censorship issues. The Pew survey found, “Of the U.S. Twitter users examined, 83% tweeted about news at least once during the 11-week period.”

That means Americans are sharing the news among themselves, often putting their own interpretation on events. It is healthy for everyone to share their opinions, but that should not change the facts and information.

Politics will also remain relevant to everyday Americans. Taxes, war, local issues, and other topics affect daily lives. Politics has become more critical on the media scene, with the percentage of people tweeting about the topic rising to 26% in 2021 from 17% in 2015, a relatively placid year followed by the raucous 2016 and subsequent years.

These shifts in media preferences show how people choose to use their brainpower. The media and news world are much more interactive than ever before. Americans are joining the conversation and putting their thoughts, ideas, and solutions on various topics out on the internet. This disruption to traditional media and news is sure to be felt for many years to come.