Rethinking News Discovery in the Age of Creators

Article | May 5, 2025

The digital landscape of information consumption in the United States is undergoing a profound transformation. Between 2024 and 2025, social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram evolved beyond entertainment hubs to become critical channels for news and information discovery, particularly for younger generations. This shift presents significant challenges and opportunities for media organizations, brands, and society at large.

A New Normal

The way Americans consume information shifted significantly in 2024-2025, with social media platforms moving center stage. TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are no longer just for social connection; they are now crucial conduits for news and information, especially for Generation Z who increasingly favor these visually-driven platforms over traditional sources.

Digital news consumption is now the norm for most US adults, with social media playing a substantial role.¹ TikTok’s use as a regular news source has grown fivefold since 2020, becoming a key destination for nearly 40% of adults under 30.¹ YouTube and Instagram have also cemented their roles, with about one-third and one-fifth of US adults, respectively, regularly getting news there.¹

Beyond news, TikTok and Instagram are increasingly used as search engines, particularly by Gen Z for discovery and recommendations.⁵ This behavior is driven by a preference for visual content, algorithmic personalization, perceived peer authenticity, and mobile convenience.⁵

This evolution disrupts traditional media and search industries, creates new marketing paradigms focused on social commerce and influencers, and raises critical concerns about information integrity, misinformation, and algorithmic echo chambers.⁸ Understanding this dynamic is essential for navigating today’s information ecosystem.

How Americans Consume Information Today

The 21st century marked a decisive move away from legacy media toward digital-first information habits. Social platforms, initially for connection, now dominate this landscape, acting as active environments for news consumption and information seeking.

The preference for digital is overwhelming. In 2024, 86% of US adults got news sometimes from digital devices, and 58% preferred digital channels over TV (32%), radio (6%), or print (4%).² This preference remains consistently high.² Within digital, social media is integral. Over half (54%) of US adults got news sometimes from social media in 2024, a slight increase.¹ While news websites/apps and search engines remain common (used sometimes by about two-thirds each), the preference for social media as a primary news source grew to 18% in 2024, up 6 points from 2023.²

This shift isn’t just about convenience; it reflects changing user expectations for immediacy, personalization, and engaging multi-modal content (video, images, text).⁵ Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram inherently deliver these experiences, especially on mobile, aligning with modern consumption patterns, particularly for digital natives like Gen Z.⁵

Social Platform Consumption Patterns

Social media’s role as a news source solidified in 2024-2025, with specific platforms showing distinct trends. While 54% of US adults used social media sometimes for news in 2024, regular consumption highlights key players.¹ Facebook (33%) and YouTube (32%) led, followed by Instagram (20%), TikTok (17%), and X (formerly Twitter) (12%).¹ Smaller shares used Reddit (8%), Nextdoor (5%), Snapchat (5%), and WhatsApp (5%).¹

Growth trajectories reveal TikTok’s rapid ascent. Regular news consumption on TikTok surged from 3% in 2020 to 17% in 2024, a fivefold increase.³ No other platform matched this pace.³ Instagram also nearly doubled its share (11% to 20%), and YouTube grew significantly (23% to 32%).¹ Facebook and X saw slight declines.¹

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Furthermore, news consumption became more central for users of these growing platforms. In 2024, 52% of TikTok users regularly got news there (up from 22% in 2020).¹ For Instagram users, it rose from 28% to 40%, and for YouTube users, 32% to 37%.¹ While Facebook still had many users getting news (48%), this was down from 54% in 2020.¹ X maintained a high proportion (59%), unchanged from 2020.¹

These trends suggest momentum lies with TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, signaling a reshaping of the social media news landscape driven by user behavior and platform dynamics.

Redefining News Engagement

Generation Z and younger millennials (ages 18-29) amplify the shift towards social media for news, showing distinct platform preferences and trust patterns. 78% of US adults aged 18-29 sometimes get news from social media, compared to 54% overall.²

TikTok is particularly prominent, with 39% of under-30s regularly getting news there in 2024 (vs. 17% overall).³ Younger adults generally dominate the news consumer base on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X, and Reddit. US teens (13-17) report high daily usage of YouTube (73%), TikTok (~60%), and Instagram/Snapchat (~50%), while Facebook and X usage has plummeted among this group.¹⁴

Influencers are critical for Gen Z news consumption. In 2024, 37% of under-30s regularly got news from social media influencers, with 65% feeling these figures helped them understand current events.¹⁷ TikTok news consumers heavily rely on influencers/celebrities (68%), more so than on Facebook (friends/family dominate) or X (news outlets are prominent).¹⁸ Gen Z often perceives micro-influencers as more authentic and credible than traditional figures, valuing relatability.⁸ This reliance shapes political and social views.¹⁹

Trust dynamics also differ. Younger adults express nearly as much trust in social media information as in national news outlets, a convergence not seen in older groups. This indicates an erosion of traditional journalistic authority for this generation.

For Gen Z, “news” increasingly includes commentary and updates from creators and peers within social feeds. Authenticity, relatability, and visual presentation often outweigh traditional credibility markers.²⁰ The messenger becomes as crucial as the message, embedding news within social connection rather than institutional authority.

The Rise of Social Search

Parallel to news consumption, platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are increasingly functioning as search engines, challenging traditional players like Google, especially among younger users.⁴ This trend, gaining traction through 2024-2025, reflects a shift in how Gen Z initiates information seeking for diverse needs, from product research to skill learning.⁵

Industry reports identify “Social as the New Search Engine” as a key 2025 trend, with consumers using these platforms for recommendations, research, and purchases, bypassing traditional search.⁶ While comprehensive quantification is emerging, data shows significant portions of Gen Z use Instagram and TikTok as primary tools for brand information.⁴ There’s a generational decline in reliance on traditional search for certain tasks.²¹

Brand and product discovery is a major driver. Use of TikTok and Snapchat for brand/product information has substantially increased since late 2021.²⁴ Many Gen Z discover brands via YouTube, and many female Gen Z consumers purchase after seeing products on TikTok.²⁵ Instagram is key for discovery, with shoppers expecting business presence there.²²

This “social search” signifies a shift in information seeking mode.⁴ Traditional search is often explicit and text-based. Social search leans towards implicit exploration and discovery, seeking inspiration, visual ‘how-tos’, or peer-validated recommendations.⁴ Algorithms proactively present content, contrasting with the query-response model and catering to different user intentions.⁵

Drivers of Social Search Among Gen Z

Gen Z’s preference for social search stems from platform design, content characteristics, and generational values.

• Visual Appeal: Short-form video offers dynamic demonstrations, providing immediate understanding often preferred over text, especially for inspiration or practical guidance.⁵, ²⁵
• Algorithmic Personalization: Platforms learn preferences and surface relevant content proactively, turning information seeking into passive discovery.⁵
• Peer & Creator Trust: Authenticity and relatability are valued; recommendations from peers or micro-influencers are often deemed more credible than ads or institutional sources.⁵, ⁸ User-generated content (UGC) is highly influential.⁵
• Immediacy & Mobile-First: Information is accessible on preferred devices, integrated with entertainment and social interaction.⁵
• Community Context: Users can find information, discuss it, and see diverse perspectives within comment sections, fostering shared discovery.⁶

These factors make social platforms effective for surfacing recommendations, ‘how-to’ tutorials, trends, brand/product discovery, and current events commentary.³ Gen Z prioritizes information that is relevant, visually compelling, digestible, and perceived as authentic, often valuing lived experience and social validation over traditional authority.⁵

Fueling the Shift

The transformation into news and search hubs is actively shaped by platform design and algorithmic curation. Short-form video formats (TikToks, Reels, Shorts) capture attention and deliver information effectively.²² Platforms promote these formats, and algorithms often prioritize them, making them primary vehicles for news commentary and information discovery (tutorials, reviews).²²

Sophisticated recommendation algorithms (like TikTok’s “For You” page) analyze user data to serve tailored content streams, maximizing engagement. While enabling discovery, this algorithmic curation pre-filters information based on platform goals, potentially limiting diverse viewpoints and prioritizing engaging content over nuance.

AI integration amplifies these capabilities, powering recommendations, ad targeting, and even content creation tools.²⁰ This increases automation but potentially reduces transparency in information surfacing.

Enhanced in-app search, hashtags, and integrated social commerce features (TikTok Shop, Instagram Shopping) further encourage discovery and transactions within the platform ecosystem.⁶, ²² Platforms are engineering themselves into comprehensive information and commerce environments, prioritizing engagement and commercial opportunities, which may not always align with journalistic integrity or balanced information access.

Navigating the New Ecosystem

The shift towards social platforms as primary information sources carries significant consequences:

• Information Integrity: The speed and algorithmic nature of social platforms create fertile ground for misinformation and disinformation.⁸ Content often lacks rigorous fact-checking compared to traditional media. Short-form video can oversimplify complex issues.³ Algorithmic curation can foster echo chambers, limiting exposure to diverse perspectives and potentially increasing polarization.⁸ Vulnerability remains high despite user awareness of potential inauthenticity.²⁰
• Market Disruption: Traditional media faces declining trust among youth¹ and competition for attention and revenue.¹⁰ Traditional search engines like Google face erosion, particularly for discovery-oriented queries among younger users.⁴ Legacy players must adapt.¹⁰
• Marketing Transformation: Social platforms are crucial for brand discovery, engagement, and social commerce.⁵, ²² Success requires authentic, engaging content (video, UGC), influencer marketing (especially micro-influencers⁸), and targeted social advertising.⁵ Brands must balance authenticity with sophisticated tools.
• Societal Impact: Civic discourse may change as political information is filtered through influencers and algorithms.¹⁷ Concerns persist about youth mental health impacts related to social comparison and anxiety, despite platforms also offering community support.⁹ The very definition of “news” and mechanisms of public knowledge formation are being reshaped.¹⁰

This ecosystem presents a paradox: democratized access and creation versus concentrated influence by tech companies.¹⁰ Opaque algorithms shaping user experience pose challenges for accountability, information quality, and an informed citizenry.¹⁰

By 2025, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram solidified their dual roles as essential news sources and burgeoning search engines in the US, driven by Gen Z preferences and strategic platform evolution.¹, ⁴, ⁵ This shift brings opportunities for connection and innovation but also significant risks regarding information integrity, market disruption, and societal impacts.⁷, ⁸

The future suggests a continued hybridization of the information environment. AI’s influence will deepen,⁶ and social commerce will become more integrated.⁶ The tension between platform commercial goals and the public need for reliable information will likely persist, potentially leading to increased scrutiny.¹⁰

Adaptation is crucial. Traditional media and search must innovate to connect with younger audiences, potentially leveraging social platforms for discovery while highlighting their value in verification and depth.¹⁰ Brands need platform-native, authentic strategies.⁵ Critically, fostering media literacy, empowering users to evaluate sources, understand algorithms, and discern credible information within social feeds, is paramount for a resilient society in the evolving digital age.