Feature photo by Aidan McNeely
By Athena Carney
The news world continues to evolve at a rapid pace, and so have the methods by which students consume breaking stories.
A fifth of U.S. adults get their news from TikTok, up from 3% in 2020, according to a recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center. In addition, 43% of U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 say they regularly get their news from TikTok, up from 9% in 2020.
With time, people receive their news from sources of most convenience, and the most convenient source in 2025 is now social media. This is especially true for college students, who typically range within the 18 to 29 demographic, and it is most accurate for students at William Peace University.
Pacers engage with others on social media like Instagram, with multiple accounts on the platform for different areas of Peace culture. From the main Peace account @wpeaceu making announcements on upcoming events, schedule changes, and other happenings, to the athletics account @gopeacepacers for announcements on lineup changes, milestones, special features, and upcoming games, and even various classroom accounts, such as the First-Year Seminar Instagram @super67sigma, there is a wide variety of places to gather information about Peace and its culture.
But how do Pacers learn news outside of Peace? For the vast majority of Pacers, they are likely to discover breaking news through Instagram and TikTok, with Instagram being the fourth most popular social platform with two billion registered users, according to a study from Exploding Topics. On top of that, the study found that TikTok was the fifth most popular, just behind Instagram, with 1.84 billion registered users.
The average person spends two hours and 24 minutes on social media per day, according to another regularly updated study from Exploding Topics. In addition, according to the study, the average American checks their mobile device 159 times a day.
“I use Instagram the most…” said Mika Perez, a junior simulation and game design major. “…Nine hours and 17 [minutes] a week.”
Nick Pucciarelli, a first-year computer science major, said that he uses TikTok seven hours a week.
While not all of that time is spent searching for breaking news, it happens more often than not. Perez says that out of the nine hours and 17 minutes she spends weekly on Instagram, she finds four hours worth of breaking news, primarily centered around politics and upcoming weather.
Pucciarelli estimated that a breaking news story will reach his For You page once every 25 videos on a wide variety of news, whether it be politics, war, or other recent events.
With how divided the world has become, the amount of information accessible through the Internet, and how many events are happening all around the world throughout the day, the average person will encounter at least one story that grabs their attention per day. It is easier than ever to find news and information because of social media, eclipsing all other forms of media in its speed.
Because of this, it is also easier than ever to share information with others by sending a direct message to friends and family on their preferred platform or posting it online for the collective to see. Thus, it becomes quicker and easier to synthesize information on breaking events.
“I wait for the other person to bring up news,” said Perez. “I then talk about my knowledge on the subject.”
Pucciarelli verbally shares breaking news with friends and family, as speech grants a more immediate response than text.
This marks a shift from deep reading toward more casual, conversational engagement with the news, where you can easily discuss events with others and come to conclusions, rather than read a long article and sit on your thoughts until the next moment you can physically meet the other person.
In terms of what kinds of news hit students’ feeds the most, it all depends on what is currently happening in the world and what they find interesting, or better yet, what rabbit holes they fall into.
Perez last read an article two weeks ago about personality and interests, although she did not read the full article. Pucciarelli last read an article last week about the percentage of school shooters who were trans.
In terms of stories that grab students’ attention, Perez said that she values urgent news like weather or other hazards as well as stories about positivity and kindness because she finds peace in people doing good for others. Pucciarelli values stories mentioning genocide because it emotionally resonates with him and rallies him to find ways to help those affected.
With all these factors combined, it is clear to see that students consume breaking stories differently than any previous generation, and the news world continues to evolve alongside this new balance of influence. Only time will tell how it evolves into the 2030s.