# highlights --- > the Pew Research Center published a new study [showing](https://archive.ph/o/XUEWM/https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/24/americans-are-following-the-news-less-closely-than-they-used-to/) that fewer adults on average said they regularly followed the news in 2021 or 2022 than in any other year surveyed. (Pew started asking the question in 2016.) [⤴️](https://omnivore.app/me/social-media-broke-up-with-news-so-did-readers-the-atlantic-18ba68292e1#ff55f100-199d-43f9-9b3f-bc1bdf724cb7) ^ff55f100 > In 2022, _Axios_ compiled data from different web-traffic-monitoring companies that showed news consumption took a “[nosedive](https://archive.ph/o/XUEWM/https://www.axios.com/2022/07/12/news-media-readership-ratings-2022)” after 2020 and, despite January 6, the war in Ukraine, and other major events, engagement across all news media—news sites, news apps, cable news, and social media—was in decline. [⤴️](https://omnivore.app/me/social-media-broke-up-with-news-so-did-readers-the-atlantic-18ba68292e1#bfc66731-33a9-4af6-b80d-00067e546619) ^bfc66731 > Millions of younger people look to [influencers and creators](https://archive.ph/o/XUEWM/https://www.theverge.com/23836187/gen-z-news-creator-sourcing-tiktok-instagram-lil-tay) on Instagram and especially [TikTok](https://archive.ph/o/XUEWM/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/07/the-2024-election-will-be-an-informational-nightmare.html), along with podcast hosts, as trusted sources of news. [⤴️](https://omnivore.app/me/social-media-broke-up-with-news-so-did-readers-the-atlantic-18ba68292e1#2e603dfc-a483-4943-a418-68c27cd1d2f6) ^2e603dfc social media is the new news (see screenshot) > In these contexts, consumer trust is not necessarily based on the quality of reporting or the prestige and history of the brand, but on strong parasocial relationships. [⤴️](https://omnivore.app/me/social-media-broke-up-with-news-so-did-readers-the-atlantic-18ba68292e1#9b91d035-c685-4747-9cf5-05b723bee459) ^9b91d035 > halcyon [⤴️](https://omnivore.app/me/social-media-broke-up-with-news-so-did-readers-the-atlantic-18ba68292e1#0a438188-9ee6-414c-8e3b-387794651424) ^0a438188 > But by 2020, the conventional wisdom had shifted. That year, a [Pew survey of more than 10,000 people](https://archive.ph/o/XUEWM/https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trust/archive/fall-2020/americans-who-get-news-mainly-on-social-media-are-less-knowledgeable-and-less-engaged) found that “U.S. adults who mainly get their political news through social media tend to be less engaged with news” and, notably, less knowledgeable about current events and politics. [⤴️](https://omnivore.app/me/social-media-broke-up-with-news-so-did-readers-the-atlantic-18ba68292e1#2e29f6af-e96c-4b2f-a133-b8eecfdc5871) ^2e29f6af I get this, but TikTok seems to be causing a resurgence here. Maybe social media as it exists won't be the new news, but social news is absolutely on the upswing imo > Organizations adopted social-media strategies designed to promote and package stories in ways that were algorithmically pleasing and easily digestible to people casually scrolling on their phones. [⤴️](https://omnivore.app/me/social-media-broke-up-with-news-so-did-readers-the-atlantic-18ba68292e1#b2a98e3f-df0e-4eb2-b79c-15e7352f340e) ^b2a98e3f contributing to [[{2.3a1} enshittification]] > “curiosity gap” headlines. [⤴️](https://omnivore.app/me/social-media-broke-up-with-news-so-did-readers-the-atlantic-18ba68292e1#8af16d5c-eff1-44cf-bfb8-b932fc8164ca) ^8af16d5c > although social media allowed new voices to enter the conversation, the centrality of these platforms also created a herding effect around coverage. News would be reported, takes would be published about that news, and all of it was distributed through social networks, where journalists could easily track metrics to see what was performing well and then tweak their coverage accordingly. [⤴️](https://omnivore.app/me/social-media-broke-up-with-news-so-did-readers-the-atlantic-18ba68292e1#e3834f4a-df9b-4076-981e-36398c1d4c4d) ^e3834f4a or maybe it's that SM *shapes* the news