My Jalis - Digital magazine about trends
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My Jalis - Digital magazine about trends My Jalis - Digital magazine about trends
Lifestyle magazine and events in Marseille : When information rhymes with social networks
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When information rhymes with social networks

How is it informed on the Internet?

09/26/2017

Now, the informing via Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Cie became so common as listening to some music in streaming or buying on-line. It is the survey result of Pew Research center in the United States.

So, the social networks are the main information source in this country. The study of the research center was conducted on a representative sample of American adults from 8th to 21st August, 2017.

From 7 to 77 years

In fact, 67% of them declare to collect at least a part of the news via this channel. Actually, this figure is far from being unpublished because they were 62% being in this case at the beginning of 2016 during the previous poll of the research center. What is new, it is the proportion of people aged over 50 declaring to inform in this way: they are now more than 50% (55%). However, they are fewer than people under 50 (78 %). Besides, the study observes a progress of the information by the social networks to the non- white and a poorly-educated people while it falls slightly for the qualified people.

The domination (almost) without Facebook sharing

In this context, Facebook wins all. It is by far the first social network information source. They are not less than 45% of the American adults to follow the current events by this way. With the wider base, YouTube comes second with 18 %, followed by Twitter with 11 % because of the (small) size of its community with regard to two other monsters. However, the platform of micro-blog is the social network of the archetypal information  in proportion with three quarters of the members to use it to follow the news against 68 % for Facebook and only 32 % for YouTube.

Besides, the users do not confine in a single platform to inform. More than a quarter spend at least two of them, if there is not any more. It is particularly the case of the subscribers of Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp. For them, it is interesting to note the simple uses as the fact that "Instagrammeurs" tend more to go on Snapchat that on LinkedIn, for example. Moreover, Facebook is in position of domination with 48 % of socionautes accessing this site to follow the current events. What a pity that the study of the Pew Research Center does not say about it any more on what motivates these preferences.

Each social network

The analysis by population segmentation can give us indications on this point. Therefore, several categories can be defined:

Instagram and Snapchat are the privilege of the young and the non-white people. 82 % of Snapchat users (for the information, name it like that) are between 18 and 29 years. All in all, they are 21 % to update the current events via this platform.
Twitter and LinkedIn are dominated by the qualified users.
At their bases, Facebook and YouTube include more people older than Instagram and Snapchat.

Des médias traditionnels toujours sollicités

Does the success met by the social networks in the access to the news mean for all the abandonment of the traditional media? No, if we believe the study of the research center. However, the latter is different from the used platform. For example, if Facebook is your information source, you will tend to watch TV as alternative. On the contrary, if you are a twittos or LinkedIn member, you will turn to the sites of current events or its applications.

After all, if the actors of the digital technology in this domain won the battle of the information access, they have to convince the contents. The latter are regularly the object of critics  or controversies related to the "information" quality which they broadcast: viral rumors, standardized contents, talk about hatred in free access, success of "fake news ", moderation maladjusted person … So much problem to be solved so that these platforms gain win the battle of the legitimacy.

Article written by Thierry Randretsa

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