Gen Z News: Hot Off the Social Press

"If I’m somewhere where I don’t really have time to read a news story, I do rely on headlines. The fact that I have access so that I can look at in two seconds, because I’m not really supposed to be on my phone at work but if I can just pull it out, click one button to get to the Apple News story and the answer is right there for me." - Maggie, Gen Z, US

How does Gen Z consume the news?

Traditionally, the news has been consumed in print and more recently on television. As technology continues to advance it has become increasingly more popular to digest the news on a variety of social mediums. Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat are amongst the most popular platforms to read news stories on.

Generation Z is digitally native and has become accustomed to the ever-changing media landscape. Approximately 12 percent of Gen Z uses Twitter to get their news. Comparatively, a combined 11 percent of all other generations use Twitter to get their news. More so, 57 percent of Gen Z uses a variety of social mediums to view the news first thing each morning.

This generation is known to lead fast-paced lives and that has influenced the way it consumes the news. An overwhelming majority of Gen Z's interviewed stated that they briefly scan the headlines to get the majority of their news. In more recent years, quick videos about news stories have also been a popular way for Gen Z's to consume the news. These videos can be watched on pretty much any social medium that has video capabilities.

This picture demonstrates how Gen Z digests the news using different social mediums. Follow this link to find out more.

Ethical Conflict

Is headline scanning an ethically responsible way for Gen Z to collect and spread the news?

Pros

No generation is immune to the occasional headline scan to get its news. In fact, a study conducted by the Media Insights Project showed that "roughly 6 in 10 people acknowledge that they have done nothing more than read news headlines in the past week" (Media Insights Project). This statistic demonstrates how headline scanning to get the news is bigger than Gen Z. This generation had to learn it from somewhere after all.

The Media Ethics Issues and Cases textbook reports on Piaget's Stages of Moral Development (pg. 352). Table 11.1 points out that most of Gen Z's fall under Piaget's Third Stage (Autonomy) of Moral Development. This would support the idea that Gen Z understands universal ethical principles that transcend specific times and situations. Headline scanning should be seen as a relevant way to get the news because Gen Z is ethically aware and therefore is less likely to spread false information with their peers.

Cons

Unfortunately common without reading an article in its entirety, many key details can be missed. Headline scanning is socially irresponsible and can lead to the dissemination of misinformation. When Gen Z scans nothing but the headlines, it is unethical to spread information this population doesn't have the full story on. Many times, understanding the full story is detrimental to grasp the context in which it was written. Reading the headlines does not simply afford that experience to Gen Z.

Not only does headline scanning contribute to the spreading of 'Fake News' but it also hurts Gen Z's personal understanding of the world around them. Even if Gen Z is not sharing every headline they read it still harms their overall understanding of the news. Headline scanning should never be a way Gen Z reads the news.

The Solution

Headline scanning is a great way to ensure one is socially aware of the issues facing the world today in the shortest amount of time possible. Time is a valuable and scarce resource and should not be taken for granted. Gen Z is simply doing the best they can to stay current on events with their allotted time and is better than the alternative of not reading the news at all.

Headline scanning should be seen as acceptable behavior for Gen Z on the condition that before anyone shares information they first understand the context in which it was written and they've vetted the source of the article.