Teens look towards many different kinds of news sources for information.
Through a poll conducted with each of the four graduating classes via Google Classroom, data was collected to represent how teens access news.
“[Most teens view news] probably through TikTok or social media,” said sophomore Rohan J.
According to the poll, 87.5% of seniors, 69.7% of juniors, 67.3% of sophomores, and 71.4% of freshmen get their news from social media. Other popular choices included online news sites and word of mouth.
However, despite a large portion of students seeing news through social media, this is not always the most reliable source of information.
“[If] it’s a news organization that has a good reputation, then I think it’s not [unreliable or biased]. But I think when people start to twist what they’re learning about or put false things because they have bias towards it and they try to twist it and their own opinion, then definitely social media can spread [misinformation],” said senior Luke T., via FaceTime.
Only 15% of teens intentionally look for the latest news, whereas 50% do not work hard to search for the news but are still able to keep up with it, and 36% do not always stay informed with the latest information at all, according to a survey done by the News Literacy Project (newslit.org).
The news is important in order to remain aware of what is going on in the world, especially regarding topics that affect high schoolers.
“The news is definitely constantly changing and tells us everyday about what’s going on in our society and a better way to understand the implications, so especially when we think about long-term future growth whether that be investments, history changing, policy implications, understanding what’s going on today is going to have ripple effects down the road,” said financial literacy teacher Peter Myers.
Staying informed with not only the latest news, but also reliable and trustworthy news, is vital, now more than ever, for teens.
“Especially when you think about it as a teenager, when you turn 18, you’re going to be able to vote on different issues that affect your lives. I’m a firm believer that the younger generation really is the future and they are the ones who are ultimately going to make decisions for the next generation,” said Myers. ◼️
