Scrolling past the Headlines: How UH Students are Informed

Students hold all of the world's news at their fingertips, privy to see historical events unfold before their eyes in high quality—right after they swipe through just one more funny TikTok. 

It has long been clear that news is no longer watched by the youth through cable television, or even through traditional news networks. Instead many younger people prefer the convenience of consuming information alongside casual entertainment found in social sites like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. According to Pew research, one-third of young adults across the country used TikTok as a news source in 2023. How do UH students compare? Pretty similarly.

Out of a poll of 100 students, the overwhelming majority cite social media as their primary news source. Only 35% of sources can be accounted for by traditional news sites.

TikTok staggers as the main culprit, representing 35% of all sources itself.

Ezekiel Alvarado, a sophomore at the University of Houston, explains why he gets his news from the app. “It’s easily accessible. It's the only form of social media I use.”

Young people don’t seem to mean to rely on TikTok for news. With average screen times inflating among Gen Z, it's a matter of algorithmic probability whether news related content shows up on their feed.

“I don't even seek it out, it just appears,” Jamilah Garcia, sophomore, says. “It doesn't seem serious. It’s ‘memified,’ and catered to what I like.” 

Looking at the polling closer, the relation of news sources and age begins to appear.

As the years increase, the spread and diversity of sources increase. Seniors reported five different sites for news, two more than any other class.

Juniors and Seniors include traditional news sources, such as the New York Times and the Houston Chronicle. Freshmen and Sophomores include none. 

The younger they are, the stronger their dependence on social media appears to be.

Despite their use of the apps, younger students don’t necessarily believe that it's a good thing that almost all of their news hails from sites engineered to farm engagement. 

Marc Rojas, a sophomore who exclusively gets his news from TikTok, argues against the practice. 

“Social media creates misinformation. Especially on TikTok, if you see one video, the next videos are all going to be regarding that thing—that's just how TikTok works. I feel like people should diversify their sources.”