According to a survey by Ofcom, TikTok is the fastest growing news source for adults in the United Kingdom, but around half of those using it for current affairs turn to TikTokers rather than conventional news organizations for the updates.
According to Ofcom, the communications watchdog of the United Kingdom, TikTok is used by 7 percent of adults for news, which is up from 1 percent. The growth is primarily driven by young users, with 50 percent of TikTok’s news followers aged 16 to 24.
The annual report of Ofcom on news consumption in the United Kingdom showed that for teens aged 12 to 15, Instagram has deposed some news websites as the most popular source among teenagers, which is closely followed by YouTube and TikTok.
Yih-Choung The, group director for strategy and research at Ofcom, said teenagers are increasingly unlikely to pick up a newspaper, preferring to keep updated by scrolling through their social media feeds. He also said that while youngsters find news on social media to be less reliable, they rate these services highly for serving up a range of opinions on the topical stories of the day.
Despite the growth of TikTok in the United Kingdom as a news source, it also appears to lag in the United States.
