From Legacy News Sources to Digital & Social Media - Has Anything Changed?

The Pew Research Center recently revealed that 62% of U.S. adults get their news from social media. When compared to a similar study back in 2012, there is a significant 20% increase, and given recent changes in the publishing sector, this trend is likely to continue.

The research also reveals a few other things. We are always on, but unwilling to sniff out information on multiple platforms. After all, we much prefer convenience. That desire for convenience, our connectedness, and the fear of missing out (FoMO) all feed and support the modern pressure of staying up-to-date. However, our standards for what “up-to-date” means have changed. 

Predictably—some would say worryingly—67% of users get their daily news from Facebook. News is also consumed on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Reddit. (In other words, digital mediums rather than physical ones.) This isn’t a new trend, but it has been accelerating according to pundits. 

So, why is traditional media still playing catch up? 

Playing Catch-Up

Legacy news sources have notoriously struggled to adapt and survive to the shift in consumption modality. In part it’s the very technology that has stalemated efforts to provide market value. Thanks to real-time amateur journalists, news junkies can soak up events in real-time. This poses tremendous pressure on new sources to up the ante and extol the benefits of traditional media.

There are still strategies in the works, but none has faired well enough to safeguard them. Creating digital content and locking it behind a pay wall simply doesn’t work—those are virtually archaic stratagems.

The most intractable problem, however, is the paradox of attention and information saturation. Users have millions of pages at their disposal and not enough time or attention to scratch. If any publication has a news story that fails to load instantly or first greets readers with a paywall warning, don’t be surprised if readers go elsewhere.

As a practical matter, this is how digital natives access information and we need to deal with it. 

Media Bias and Public Mistrust

The recent anti-conservative bias on Facebook was an early warning of the dangers around accessing our news from one outlet. But hasn’t it always been this way? MSBNC are inveterately liberal, and Fox News unflaggingly conservative. This isn’t new. Moreover, consistency is good; but bias is bad.

Perceived media bias from the old guard has created public mistrust. This is partly why people no longer flock to traditional media outlets for news. They suspect that what appears on their social media channels is more authentic, even if subjective.

However, algorithms determine news distribution online. These algorithms are designed by humans and respond to signals reflective of human preferences. Isn’t that biased too?

Who Controls Our Information?

There are conspicuous concerns about all-encompassing tech companies armed with a wealth of data and machine learning capabilities that might misuse their influence. With such power, it could be relatively easy to manipulate if not covertly guide the masses.

And we ourselves may be culprits in our own self-deception. In the same way people surround themselves with TV channels and newspapers that reinforce their worldview, we too let social media platforms feed us information that we find agreeable. The intrinsic peril of accessing all our information from one source is that we create an echo chamber where ideas and beliefs are amplified and untouchable.

Don’t Fall Prey to the Very Thing You Seek to Avoid

Diverse perspectives challenge our thinking and assumptions. That is essential to growth and progress. Whether our media diet contains digital or legacy news sources, we need to remember to diversify or stagnate. 

I say this because as we turn our backs on legacy news sources, it seems that legacy problems remain. 

Those that control the flow of information are incredibly powerful, and when you add politics to the mix, we have a dangerous cocktail on our hands. Tragically, modern technological is a conduit where we too can engender our own ignorance and delusion.

Whether it be Rupert Murdoch or Mark Zuckerberg at the helm, it appears that very little has actually changed.

• Nominate me for LinkedIn Top Voices List 
• Follow me on Twitter 
• Other Articles by me on the Topics of Leadership | Self-Improvement | Tech | Digital | Careers | Entrepreneurship | Innovation | Sales | Marketing | HuffPost Column | Forbes Column | General