Social Studies Lab

View Original

What portion of Americans regularly get their news from TikTok?

Friday Current Event

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

  1. What percent of the U.S. population regularly get their news from TikTok?

  2. Over two-thirds of teens report ever using TikTok.  What percent of the U.S. population between age 18-29 regularly get their news from TikTok?

  3. Describe the trend in the % of Americans adults who regularly get their news from TikTok.

  4. I am very very very old and don’t use TikTok at all. How would you describe news on TikTok to an ancient person like me (pro tip: don’t post your response to TikTok becuse I won’t get it!)

  5. Why do you think U.S. news consumption on TikTok is increasing so quickly?

  6. Based on what you know about American politics, age, and voting, explain whether the TikTok news usage of Americans age 65+ matters.

  7. Some say TikTok news is bad because it is very short and superficial. Others complain that TikTok news is dangerous because it is owned by a Chinese company. Explain whether you are worried about growing U.S. TikTok news consumption.

  8. Based on the visual below* what percent of Americans support the government banning TikTok?

  9. In just three years, the share of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has more than quadrupled, from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023. Some argue that TikTok should be banned. In fact, on May 17, 2023 Montana became the first US state to ban TikTok after the governor signed legislation prohibiting mobile application stores from offering the app within the state by next year. Explain whether you support the government banning TikTok.

  10. With the proliferation of AI generated fake videos, audio, and news, explain whether someone who gets all their news on TikTok is more dangerous than someone who gets no news at all.

Learning Extension

See this content in the original post

Action Extension

Contact President Joe Biden and tell him whether he should push the U.S. congress to ban Tik Tok.

Visual Extension