74% of consumers are beginning to look for different opinions on topical news.
72% of consumers have begun to unfollow certain people and accounts altogether.
66% of people have started to hide social media posts from people with differing views.
Today, hardly a day goes by when the word “fake” and “news” aren’t uttered in unity. The British public – and indeed the world – are “woke” to how easily data can be manipulated, how insidious fake news is. Therefore, we are more mindful than ever before about where we source our news, what headlines we acknowledge and how we choose to consume the content that interests us.
Interested in exploring this theme further, OnBuy.com analysed a report by Mindshare entitled Trends 2019, which holds quantitative research from more than 6,000 consumers aged 18+ across the UK, plus social and search insights to help define themes.
OnBuy discovered the recent questioning of news and its sources is mirrored in a change in consumer behaviour.
In 2019, 83% of consumers are paying closer attention to news sources and 74% are beginning to look for different opinions on topical news, perhaps to determine what is fact from fiction. It also suggests British people do not rely on – and are not loyal to – one, singular news source.
OnBuy also identified a shift in how consumers interact with social media. 66% of consumers are sharing less about their lives on social media. An additional 61% of consumers are doing more to monitor their own screen time, with 51% of 18-34-year-olds proclaiming they would welcome pop-up messages on social media warning about excessive usage.
Some consumers have taken a stance on digital dieting one step further.
66% have started to hide social media posts from people with views differing from their own, while 72% have begun to unfollow certain people and accounts altogether. Proving today, British consumers have little to no patience for social media content that makes them feel negative, depressed or uncertain.
Cas Paton, managing director of OnBuy.com, exclusively comments:
“In today’s climate, which at times looks as if it could be blighted by digital, it’s no shock that such a vast number of consumers are deciding to pay closer attention to the news sources they invest in. It stands to reason that we are surveying different opinions and sources, more today than ever before, because we are on the search for truth. The news is not the concentrated source it once was.”
