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Increasingly, people are getting their news from social media. But, is this good or bad?

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2016, 35 percent of people between ages 18 and 29 said that social media was the “most helpful” source of information about the presidential campaign. For those aged 30 to 49 it was only 15 percent who found social media most helpful.

In addition to this demographic shift toward social media is information from the Media Insight Project which shows that people tend to trust articles shared on Facebook more from people than from news organizations or institutions. And, also, a recent study by Eschelon Insights and Hart Research found adults ages 18 to 49 trust news and political information shared from “friends” more than news delivered from other sources.

From 1989 to 2013 traditional newspaper organizations lost 20,000 full-time jobs. From 1968 to 2014, the number of paid daily subscribers in the United States dropped by 20 million. Advertising revenue plummeted from $49.4 billion in 2005 to $19.9 billion in 2014. Surely, these statistics would spell doom for any industry. Yet, today, the traditional newspaper industry is still alive and in some cases, thriving. But, how can this be? One reason is: The Bezos Effect

It was Jeff Bezos, the owner and inventor of Amazon, his integrity, forward thinking and deep pockets, which saved the Washington Post from the grave and provided the industry with an example of success.

“Fake news!” We’re hearing about it all the time. Untrue and damaging stories which get shared quickly and widely on social media. In some cases “fake news” stories have led to tragic results. But, “fake news” is not a new phenomenon. It has been around since news became a concept five hundred years ago with the invention of print. Even America’s Founding Fathers were perpetrators of fake news for political means. Verified, “objective” news, didn’t emerge until about a hundred years ago. 

Today, in the social media age, finding reliable news can be a confusing task. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat have created vast communication spaces for the sharing of information. This explosion of channels has increased the speed at which information travels, but it’s also helping to spread today’s epidemic of “fake news.”