The Evolution of News Consumption: How Technology Has Changed Society’s Expectation of Mass Media

By: AKisomose

Date: September 29,2024

Technology has transformed the way we consume news from the dependency on old FM radios, printed newspapers, and prime-time news in the evening for information to consuming new to consuming news on the go through mobile digital devices powered by social media platforms and the availability of 5G mobile internet. However, below are some of the ways technology has changed the way society receives news today.

-      Social media: News dissemination and consumption using social media tools like Facebook Live, X short-form posts, YouTube Live, and detailed online articles from reputable news organizations to broadcast news today. One can consume news from anywhere if they have internet connectivity and a smartphone. In my own experience, I once watched the United States Union Address on my phone because I was at work at the time it was being broadcast live on Facebook. Therefore, social media platforms are now the primary news sources for most Americans.

-    Digitization of media: This approach caused news to shift from print to online articles that are environmentally friendly. Online news falls under long-form content, and consumers expect to find detailed information from online news. It is embedded with text, images, videos, and sound clips, all because of advanced content creation tools that can optimize digital content for mobile consumption and extend it to different forms but still carry the same message. For example, a Facebook post could be embedded with an article link that channels the reader to a detailed webpage article on the same issues.

Real-time Updates: Today's news consumption can give consumers real-time updates on a developing story worldwide. These updates are tagged as breaking news or live updates. Transparency engages directly with the editorial teams and, as a result, helps build public trust because of their firsthand visual accountability on a developing story.

Mobile First: News consumption and dissemination have shifted to a mobile-first approach because, currently, everyone living in an urban area has a smart mobile phone with an internet connection; hence, they can watch news on their mobile devices. This again changes the convention of only receiving news via printed newspapers, radio, and television.

Personalized news content: With the current AI trends, social media platforms can customize news according to individual preferences. For example, I usually read updates on design technology. The algorithms will automatically channel news about Adobe’s AI tools, like Adobe Firefly, being integrated into the brand’s other software, like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Advanced technology has changed our news sources from traditional media, newspapers, television, and radio, which still exist but with reduced influence. However, today's primary news sources are online articles from trusted outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, and HuffPost. Today, as listed above, most people access news via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Other news sources are independent media bloggers, influencers, and citizen journalists. For example, as a communication specialist, I run a Facebook page that shares societal issues in the news. Our goal is to break down media terminology with short videos in the form of reels or mini-documentaries. Therefore, the audience can react to our posts by commenting with text or liking the posts.

Technology’s impact on News consumption today is compounded by the following changes.

-  Public opinion on societal issues can be influenced by deep fake news, which spreads bias and disinformation. There are more concerns about news sources and authenticity, unlike before, when news broadcast was dominated by big media

-    There is increased accessibility to news because digital news is optimized for different devices from online news articles on desktop computers to smartphone users consuming live updates and the elderly replaying news broadcasts Amazon smart speakers. Therefore, today’s society can access news in different formats because news is available anywhere at any time.

-       Consumer engagement is improved because of the digital nature of news today, so you do not have to contact the editorial team through the long process of posting mail. Today, someone can comment on a news broadcast in real-time, which helps build trust between the audience and the editorial team to receive feedback on any changes or improvements.

Increased diverse perspectives powered by the nature of digital news and advanced technologies. Today, new production and dissemination involve many diverse voices addressing societal issues, and as a result, this has led to political change in some countries where the public uses social media to call out the wrongs of society.

Therefore, how we consume news has changed and is still evolving because technology is still driving more innovation in news production and accessibility even though news source authenticity and trust are still concerns to the public. Also, future news broadcasts will see more artificial intelligence (AI) news, which is already being played by smart speakers and voice assistants. Blockchain-based news is expected to be more secure, transparent, and trustworthy.

References:

Baran, S. J. (2023). Introduction to mass communication: Media literacy and culture (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Couch, J.R. (2023). Artificial Intelligence: Past, present, and future. Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science, 21(1), 2. 

Chaffey, D. (2024, February). Global social media statistics research summary 2024.https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/