Study: US adults under 30 almost as likely to trust information from social media as from national news outlets

U.S. adults under 30 are the only group to trust information from social media sites almost as much as they trust information from local and national news organizations, according to a survey published Thursday by the Pew Research Center.



The survey showed that half of respondents aged 18 to 29 said they have some or a lot of trust in the information they get from social media sites. This falls just slightly below the 56% who say the same about information from national news organizations; 62% of this age group said the same about information from local news organizations.

A graph from Pew Research Center shows the percentage of U.S. adults who say they have some or a lot of trust in the information they get from social media sites, local news organizations and national news organizations, from 2016 to 2022. (Courtesy Pew Research Center)

The 6% point gap between the share of young adults who trust social media sites and the share who trust national news outlets is the smallest for any age group since Pew first asked this survey question six years ago.

Among all other age groups, U.S. adults show considerably less trust in information from social media sites as compared to information from national and local news outlets. Older Americans, particularly aged 50 and up, are more likely than younger Americans to express trust in national and local news outlets.

Dana Sukontarak

Dana Sukontarak is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. She loves haiku poetry, short sci-fi stories and word games. She grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and currently lives in Silver Spring.

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