Twitter’s decade of success has connected millennials to the news.
The social media site has been a major game changer when it comes to the way we’re consuming and distributing news. Previous generations have relied heavily on well-known news organizations for their pieces of information. Now, people are one scroll away from timely news. As the social media app reaches this milestone, its popularity and success continue to grow.
Ismael Medel, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Communication Studies, currently teaches a class on social media and said that he believes Twitter is a social media tool that is suited for news.
“Its instant nature, the brevity of the messages, the simplicity of the display … it all speaks to a particular generation who is over informed and yet too busy to dig deep,” Medel said.
Over the last decade, Twitter has been the agent through which we’ve seen eyewitness accounts of major historical events. Ranging from the death of Whitney Houston to the royal engagement of Prince William to Princess Kate, all the way the man who inadvertently live-tweeted the U.S. raid that brought down terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
Events such as these are making Twitter an almost real-time news breaking site where anyone is a journalist.
Millennials are now turning to Twitter for breaking news more than ever for many reasons.
Its 140-character limit doesn’t allow for rambling, making news breaks brief and easy to consume regardless of location.
Its timeliness allows users to receive updates as close to real time as possible.
Sydney Potter, senior journalism student, said that she loves using Twitter as a source of news because it allows her to interact with the story as it’s developing.
Twitter’s unique features allow for users to separate their news from their known friends. The lists feature of Twitter is magical, unknown to some; this feature allows you to group different people together without having to follow them and have them on your everyday feed.
Lastly, Twitter is a successful news-gathering source because its a one-stop shop where millennials and people of all ages can connect with friends, get updates on sports events and get their news.