Opinion poll
One in four people no longer watches traditional TV
Social media instead of television: Young people are turning to social media much more often for current information (symbolic image). Photo
© Britta Pedersen/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
The withdrawal of many viewers from linear television has gained even more momentum in recent months. It is striking that young people often look for news on social media.
“That is huge and, above all, there is now a short-term decline of 8 percentage points,” explained Marion Sperlich, who was responsible for the “Screens in Motion” study, in an interview with the German Press Agency in Berlin. The study is to be considered representative of the population aged 14 and over with online access in Germany.
However, screen consumption itself is still quite high. 84 percent of those surveyed said that they use streaming, media libraries and/or pay-TV offerings.
Where do people get information about current topics?
The market researchers found an “astonishing shift” in the answers about where people get their information about current topics such as politics, business and world events, said Sperlich. “Public TV channels are the main source of information about current events for all respondents (…). But this has declined sharply, from 56 percent to 46 percent in just two years. Another important source – exchanges within family and friends – has also declined when asked this question. But if we look at the age groups again, the results are massively different.”
For respondents aged 50 and over, public TV channels are the main source, at 65 percent, according to the expert, who works as Head of Research Market Media Insights at Burda Publishing. “For the very young, up to 29 years old, the figure is around 25 percent. They turn to social media much more often for current information. That includes Facebook, but also Instagram and Tiktok. When it comes to using moving images on Facebook, older people are now more represented than the very young, who are actually more likely to be on Instagram, Tiktok or Pinterest.”