Remy Rosenberg

Think for a minute and ask yourself where you get your news. For a lot of us, the answer is simple: our phones. We scroll through Instagram or Tiktok and suddenly feel “in the loop”. In today’s world, many teens turn to social media for updates because it’s fast and easy. That convenience comes with real risks. When your main source of information is short posts and endless scrolls, it’s easy to forget that what you see might not be the whole truth. Social media may feel immediate, but the information you might come across is not always accurate.

One of the biggest problems is accuracy. Anyone can film a clip and add a caption, and if it’s catchy enough, it will spread fast. By the time someone fact checks the story, the false version has already gone viral and people start believing it. Before you know it, rumors spread faster than a trending dance, and the truth can get lost in the mix. Because most teens get their news from only social media, they are most likely going to believe whatever they see.

Social media makes news posts so short. When teens see this, they don’t get the full story, leading them to spread misinformation. A 20-second clip of “breaking news” may seem dramatic, but often leaves out key information to knowing the whole story. It’s like watching a movie trailer and thinking you know exactly what happens in the rest of the movie.

And then there’s the algorithm, which decides what pops up on your feed. It notices what you like and keeps showing you similar content. That means you might only see one side of the story without even realizing. To truly know what’s going on in our world, check multiple news sources online, read full articles, and think before you spread misinformation.

According to Pew Research Center, “about half of U.S. adults (53%) say they at least sometimes get news from social media, roughly stable over the last few years.” They also say that “Younger people are more likely to be regular news consumers on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and X.”

Where to Get Reliable News:

 Conversation Starters:

  1. When was the last time you shared a news post without checking if it was true?
  2. Do you think scrolling on Tiktok or Instagram counts as staying informed?
  3. Have you ever believed something you saw online, only to find out later it wasn’t true?
  4. Have you ever noticed that your feed only shows you posts that you agree and interact with?
  5. Do you talk about news with your friends or just scroll past it?

Learn More

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