If it’s not in your newsfeed, will you search for it?
I’ve always wondered where people find the articles that they read from The Ontarion.
- Do they grab a copy of it in the UC?
- Do they read it on the website?
- Do they find it advertised on Facebook?
The first two options seem very possible, but it is about to become increasingly unlikely that people will find their main news sources on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg has decided to adjust what people see on Facebook, putting a heavier emphasis on items that relate more to family and friends’ posts.This is meant to give Facebook a better sense of community, creating a space for social interactions instead of intense debates over social issues.
If you are worried about people not being able to see the extremely interesting article from [insert reputable newspaper name here], do not fret. You will still be able to “share” and “like” whatever you want on Facebook. The difference is that news sources, along with many advertisements, will not be given priority. Over the years, Facebook has gone from a very social-oriented sphere to one that is based almost solely on news sources. Zuckerberg wants to change the way that Facebook looks and feels in order to promote users’ happiness. Yes, you read that right.
Zuckerberg explained this new approach to Nieman Lab: “research shows that when we use social media to connect with people we care about, it can be good for our well-being. We can feel more connected and less lonely, and that correlates with long term measures of happiness and health.”
Whether reducing the visibility of news sources on Facebook is for the true benefit of users or for Facebook itself is yet to be known, but it’s interesting to see the surprisingly “human” approach Zuckerberg is using.
So what does this all mean for our valued news sources?
Most likely, it means that there will be a steady decline in the less reputable news sources that seem to be so prevalent on Facebook. Instead, sources that already have a strong following will likely continue to survive because they do not rely solely on Facebook for their readers.
Will people who traditionally only use Facebook for news sources seek out information elsewhere?
Maybe there will be a revival of people actively trying to learn about the world, instead of having it shoved in their faces, or maybe there won’t.
All of this still begs the question: how did you find this article?
Feature photo courtesy of Flickr
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