New research sheds light on

social media "filter bubbles"

In the past year renewed focus has been placed on the diversity of peoples news
consumption habits, with concepts like filter bubbles and echo chambers becoming
more discussed. New research from the Reuters Institute highlights the role of social
media in the ideological diversity of news consumption. Reuters looked at three
different groups of social users News Users, or those who turn to social media for
news, Non-Users, those who do not use social media at all, and Incidentally
Exposed, those who use social media, but not intentionally for news.

Relationship between social media use and number of

news sources
The researchers found that in every country they looked at (the United States,
Germany, and the United Kingdom), the News Users use the most news sources.
With the continued rise and influence of social media, people can easily follow
multiple sources, but they cautioned that someone using more sources does not
mean that their consumption is more diverse. However, because the number of
sources is low, the researchers believe that "it is likely that any increase in the number
of sources will necessarily lead to more diverse consumption."

Average number of online news brands used in the last week.

Exposure from both sides

Reuters also found that news consumers on social media were more likely to be
exposed to sources from across the political spectrum. Looking at the partisan
leanings combined with the number of sources, the study determined that News Users
were more likely to use both a left-leaning and a right-leaning news source. They
concluded that those who use social media, and are either incidentally exposed or
seek out news on it, consume news that is both more politically diverse and from more
sources than those who do not use social media.

Proportion who use both a news source with a left-leaning audience, and a source with a right-leaning audience.

Other things of note

NPR was 10th on the list of TV, radio, and print sources based on weekly usage.
While a lot of attention is paid to the mistrust of the media, 53% of respondents
say they trust the news sources they actually use, while 38% trust the news
overall.

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