‘Normal news is boring’: How young adults encounter and experience news on Instagram and TikTok

Abstract

Instagram and TikTok constitute the fastest rising social media apps for news consumption. However, very little remains known on how young people encounter and experience news content on these platforms. Drawing on 25 in-depth interviews with young adult Belgians, including operationalising the walkthrough method, this qualitative research article fills this existing gap in scholarship. I contextualise but also nuance how younger users are accustomed to relying on third-party social media apps as the primary location to encounter news rather than news outlets’ own offline and online platforms. The study results also shine light on intriguing perception differences in young adults’ varying news expectations of Instagram and TikTok, based on which ramifications and recommendations are discussed. Conceptually, I propose adopting the terms encountering and experiencing news rather than being exposed to or trusting it, in order to highlight the acknowledged (radical) audience turn in journalism studies and practice.