There are bound to be cultural differences between social media networks, as well as groups and accounts on those networks themselves. There’s always been a pretty substantial difference between Instagram and Twitter. However, since the latter has been rebranded as X, those differences are, arguably, more pronounced than ever.
On the one hand, you have Instagram, which has a massive focus on visual and aesthetic content like photos and videos. On the other hand, you have X, which is much more text-based, even if it’s full of pics and clips as well. X is, arguably, much more fast-paced and focused on news (especially breaking news stories), current events, and political and social commentary.
Though, of course, you’ll find plenty of memes and lighthearted content on X, too, just like you’d find commentary on current events on Instagram as well.
A recent Pew Research Center survey that looked at how Americans get their news found that half of adults in the United States say that they get theirs from social media in general.
That being said, major platforms like TikTok, X, Facebook, and Instagram differ in their structure, content, as well as culture. So, the ways that people encounter news there can vary a lot.
According to the survey, X and Facebook users are most likely to see news articles on the platforms (79% and 74% respectively, according to social media users), compared to TikTok (57%) and Instagram (52%).
Generally, younger users are more likely to see breaking news-related info.
While X news consumers are most likely to say that they got their news from outlets or journalists (80%), the situation on other platforms is very different.
Far fewer users said they get their news from outlets or journalists on Facebook (68%), TikTok (67%) and Instagram (65%). TikTok news consumers are the most likely to get their news from influencers and celebrities, followed by Instagram users.
The Pew Research Center survey found that Democratic news consumers are more likely to get their news from advocacy or nonprofit organizations than Republicans.
Furthermore, Democrats tend to be more skeptical of information found on X, while Republicans are more skeptical of information found on Facebook.
For X users, the news is either a major or minor reason for their use of the platform. Around half of the users said in the survey that they regularly get their news there. Meanwhile, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram users don’t necessarily use these networks specifically for news.
That being said, all of these four platforms’ users still see news there, “especially through opinion- or humor-based content.”
