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UBC Says Canadians Use Facebook and Twitter for News

By Ryan Leclaire
  |  
  1 Min Read
UBC Says Canadians Use Facebook and Twitter for News
Twitter and Facebook

Canadians have been looking to Facebook and Twitter as a news resource.

Nearly 60 per cent of Canadians look to social media for news, according to a professor at the University of British Columbia.

“News is increasingly becoming a shared social experience online for Canadians thanks to new digital platforms and services,” said Prof. Alfred Hermida of UBC’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Hermida recently released the third study in a research series for the Canadian Media Research Consortium (CMRC), and says that 15 million people regularly visit social networking websites. He reports that they feel that social media exposes them to a broader range of news and information than traditional media.

“This study shows how Canadians are using social networks as personalized news streams, with news selected and filtered by family, friends and acquaintances,” said Hermida.

Canadians still look at print and broadcast news. Hermida’s research showed that 36 per cent of Canadian adults consider social media an equally important source of news, with a whopping 61 per cent for Canadians below the age of 34 feeling the same way.

But the fact that they’re reading it, doesn’t mean they trust it. Only 25 per cent of those surveyed said that they trust what they read on social media. Whereas roughly 90 per cent of respondents said they trust radio, print and broadcast news.

Schools mentioned: University of British Columbia

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