How Pitt students navigate news on social media

Pitt students report getting their news from TikTok and push notifications — but many said that’s not where they decide if what they’ve heard is true.

Social media is the leading source of news among adults, with around 54% of Americans getting their news from platforms such as Facebook, X, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, according to the BBC. Despite social media’s role as a first point of contact with news, several Pitt students said they don’t stop there. After encountering a story on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, they said they then turn to established news outlets to determine whether the information is accurate.

Despite its widespread use, social media has become a controversial source of information because of its potential for spreading misinformation. A 2020 study on COVID-19 misinformation by the Reuters Institute found that 88% of a sample of false or misleading claims appeared on social media, compared with 9% for television, 8% for print media and 7% for websites.

Madison Rager, a junior pharmacy major, said she uses both Apple News and TikTok to stay updated. 

“I’ll get notifications on my phone, so I’ll check those headlines, or sometimes if I’m just scrolling on TikTok, I’ll see a news headline, and I’ll go look it up some more and see what it’s about,” Rager said.

Rager said she does not consider social media the best way to stay informed. Instead, she fact-checks with sources such as CNN and the BBC. 

“I think it’s very distorted on what you can trust and what you can’t trust,” Rager said. “That’s why I think it’s important to see what you’re seeing on social media but then also do further investigation to see if it’s actually true or not.”

Sarah-Divine Amani, a first-year finance and supply chain management major, said she primarily uses Apple News notifications to stay aware of current events. If a story interests her, she researches it further. 

“I just scroll down on my phone to my notifications, and there’s Apple News, and it … gives you a rundown on what happened this week,” Amani said. “I don’t really look into it that hard — I’ll just read it, and then if I’m interested in it, I’ll do more research on it.”

Tina Cafasso, an English professor who teaches “Professional Uses of Social Media,” said Gen Z’s use of social media is partly driven by a desire for “authenticity” and “relatability.”

“Through these social media influencers, they get quick information, whether a short-form video, [or so forth], so that kind of shapes their political attitudes and behaviors,” Cafasso said. “They can relate to influencers’ personal stories sometimes, so it feels more like a friend.”

Sean Dalo, a first-year biology major, said TikTok is one of his main sources of news because of its convenience.

“I feel like it’s just such a quick and easy way to find info on the go,” Dalo said. 

Dalo said he knows information on social media needs to be fact-checked, but he still sees the value in using the platform to be exposed to different perspectives. 

“You can’t believe everything you see on social media, but it’s just a source for everyone to kind of give their input on certain things,” Dalo said. “And you know, everyone’s on TikTok nowadays, too.”

Cafasso said influencers can be beneficial in keeping students informed, as long as the information is factual. 

“I think sometimes influencers can be reliable sources if [a] political candidate is using them to get their information out and to build that authentic trust with its specific demographic,” Cafasso said. 

Although Dalo gets much of his news from TikTok, he said he does not follow specific political influencers. Instead, he verifies statements using several sources.

“I haven’t really found a consistent person, because I feel like, obviously, you have to verify across multiple different sources before you want to stick to something, ” Dalo said. 

Jamie Embleton, a sophomore elementary education major, said social media is not the most reliable source for news but can be difficult to avoid because of what the platform’s algorithm pushes. 

“I feel like it’s a lot harder to get news elsewhere, and it’s just so available to us,” Embleton said. “But at the same time, there’s a lot of bias with that, and it’s very easy to get into a [hole].”

Cafasso said social media’s algorithms track users’ activity, including what they watch, share and like, to personalize the content they see. She said the process is called “behavior-driven reinforcement.” 

“It could start as casual viewing or clicking, but then it kind of turns into a political rabbit hole where they’re constantly receiving different notifications, videos or advertisements due to that algorithm,” Cafasso said.