Jonathan Layton is watching news stories on Instagram. Credit: Purity Siror/WVU News
In a media-saturated era, a young person scrolling through TikTok might encounter breaking news, sports reports, or political commentary all within seconds. The experience is fast, personalized, and constant.
For many young people, the social media feed has replaced conventional ways of consuming news. For 22-year-old Jonathan Layton Cornett of Morgantown, it is often the first stop but not the last.
“I do prefer social media,” Cornett said. “You get a lot more viewpoints… which gives you more ability to determine what you think is correct.”
Even though he gets his news from social media, Cornett said he doesn't fully trust the information he sees there.
“The first thing I do… is see if I can find sources that back it up,” he said. “I do not trust first sight on anything.”
Unlike many in his generation who rely on quick video clips that summarize or condense news stories, Cornett resists the algorithm's shorthand.
“Short clips do not really give you a full picture,” he said. “I typically look at full news stories.”
What Cornett’s scrolling reflects is part of a broader shift in how young people aged 18-19 are consuming news. According to the Pew Research Center, 53% of young adults now get their news from social media, reshaping not just how information is consumed, but how it is trusted.
Increasingly, young audiences are not turning on televisions, radios, or newspapers but are relying on algorithm-driven feeds that deliver headlines in quick, visual, and easy-to-share fragments.
Media experts say this change goes beyond convenience. It affects how information is filtered, how credibility is assessed, and how audiences engage in the comments, turning the space into a public forum where meaning is actively debated and consumed by the diverse audience.
A generation that doesn’t “tune in.”
Unlike previous generations, young adults do not wait for news time; it arrives, filtered and delivered in real time.
Wade Parsons, news director at WCHS-TV in Charleston, West Virginia, said younger audiences are not necessarily disengaged but are highly selective about what they consume.
“They're looking for specific kinds of content,” Parsons said. “If someone is very interested in a certain item, they are hyper consumers… they want to know a whole lot about very specific things.”
Instead of watching a full broadcast or reading a daily paper, many young users engage deeply with niche topics from sports to politics, often using their preferred social media channels.
Anna Goldizen, editor-in-chief of the DA, said those preferences are closely tied to how platforms are designed.
Anna Goldizen, editor-in-chief of the DA. Credit: Provided
“Younger people are much more likely to engage on TikTok and Instagram Reels,” Goldizen said. “And if they actually want to watch longer-form content, a lot of them go to YouTube.”
The result is a fragmented media space where audiences no longer share the same set of headlines; instead, they experience entirely different versions of the news.
The algorithm as gatekeeper
Behind every scroll is an invisible editor: algorithms designed to keep users engaged with content most likely to go viral. These systems shape what appears on their feed, often prioritizing posts that spark strong emotional reactions.
Social media platforms are built for engagement, and that design influences the kind of news people encounter. Dr. Jones, a media ethicist and an assistant professor in the Reed School of Media and Communications at West Virginia University, said algorithms often prioritize emotionally charged content, including material that provokes fear, anger, or outrage, and is more likely to be shared. “We have algorithms that prioritize sensationalism, often fear, anger, and hatred,” he said
Parsons added that stories performing well online for his news outlet tend to generate strong reactions rather than provide deeper context.
That dynamic, he said, can come with unintended consequences.
“I think an algorithm can be dangerous… it can create a filter bubble that
can kind of shield us from seeing other perspectives,” Parsons said.
He added that media-literate users are better equipped to question what they see and seek additional sources.
How Social Media Algorithms Shape What You See
Filter Bubble Process
Influencers vs. Journalists
As social media becomes the primary source of information, trust is shifting as well. Research from Gallup shows that trust in the media as an information source has decreased.
Goldizen said audiences are increasingly turning to content creators and influencers, a trend that raises concerns about credibility.
“People are beginning to trust just regular content creators and influencers more than a trained journalist,” she said.
Unlike journalists, who are trained to verify information and follow ethical standards, content creators are not always held to the same expectations. That difference, experts say, can blur the line between opinion and fact.
Jones said that despite changes in how news is delivered, the core responsibilities of journalism remain unchanged.
“The ethical responsibilities of journalists have not changed… they must still verify facts and serve the public interest,” Jones said.
At the same time, he noted that journalists, news consumers, and content creators share responsibility for limiting misinformation.
“When it comes to misinformation, all of these parties have civic duties and obligations to limit harm,” he said
What happens next
For local newsrooms, adapting to this shift means meeting audiences where they are without compromising journalistic standards.
Parsons said that social media and traditional journalism are becoming increasingly interconnected, rather than competing forces.
Wade Parsons, news director at WCHS-TV in Charleston. Credit: Purity Siror/WVU
News
At the same time, Goldizen stresses the importance of media literacy in navigating the modern information landscape.
“The biggest thing is just fact-checking… find other reputable sources,” she said.
Experts say that while platforms will continue to evolve, the responsibility of understanding and questioning information ultimately falls on both journalists and audiences.
For young audiences in West Virginia, the news hasn’t disappeared; it has been absorbed into the scroll. What feels complete is often only a fragment. Understanding it now requires looking beyond the feed and asking, as Jones puts it, “How do you know?"