How has Facebook changed the world?
Social media sites such as Facebook
and Twitter have changed the way we communicate, the way people run
their businesses, the way we meet and make new friends, and even the way
we access and read the news. According to research, 63% of people in
the USA now read the news online, and among Americans aged 18-24, 71%
say that they only get their news online. Furthermore, more people than
ever are using social media to do more than chat and share photos. Half
of social media users have shared news stories, images or videos, and
14% have posted their own photos or videos of news events.
Research suggests that today most people find out about breaking news stories on social media, then they go to a news website to find out more, and about 20% of news website visitors have followed a link to an article from Facebook. For this reason, news companies are realizing that their websites' homepages are not as important as the individual articles, which attract more people to their websites. However, this may change as Facebook's new Instant Articles feature will enable users to read full stories from news sites without leaving Facebook.
How does Facebook decide which news articles to show people? The site uses information about your friends, interests, and connections to calculate which stories you will enjoy reading. It then places those items in your news feed. Other factors which help to decide what you will see in your news feed include what device you are using, how many comments, likes or shares an article has received, and how long users spend reading an article. Although some people dislike the way Facebook decides what news they will and won't see when they log on, your Facebook news feed is becoming your own personal newspaper.
Social media is affecting how newspapers deliver their stories, too. People today want to read about events instantly and quickly in the same way as they read updates on sites like Facebook. The need to report the news immediately in bite-size articles has led to paper publications printing shorter stories to appeal to busy people on the move. The American newspaper The Washington Post is even working on a system for delivering different versions of their articles to different people, based on information about how a user has found an article, what kind of device they are using, and even whether they are holding their device in landscape or portrait mode. People reading on a mobile phone while out during the day will most likely want a short, condensed story, but people reading on a tablet at home may prefer a longer, more detailed article.
Facebook also provides a place for people to share and discuss their opinions on the news. About a third of Facebook users post comments or opinions about politics and government, and many users post about recent events in the news. Sometimes, these discussions lead to groups being formed. Revolutions and protests have also been organized on Facebook, when people have decided to get together to take action.
Social media sites like Facebook have changed our lives in many ways in the last ten years, and its effect on news media is just part of that change. What developments would you like to see?
Research suggests that today most people find out about breaking news stories on social media, then they go to a news website to find out more, and about 20% of news website visitors have followed a link to an article from Facebook. For this reason, news companies are realizing that their websites' homepages are not as important as the individual articles, which attract more people to their websites. However, this may change as Facebook's new Instant Articles feature will enable users to read full stories from news sites without leaving Facebook.
How does Facebook decide which news articles to show people? The site uses information about your friends, interests, and connections to calculate which stories you will enjoy reading. It then places those items in your news feed. Other factors which help to decide what you will see in your news feed include what device you are using, how many comments, likes or shares an article has received, and how long users spend reading an article. Although some people dislike the way Facebook decides what news they will and won't see when they log on, your Facebook news feed is becoming your own personal newspaper.
Social media is affecting how newspapers deliver their stories, too. People today want to read about events instantly and quickly in the same way as they read updates on sites like Facebook. The need to report the news immediately in bite-size articles has led to paper publications printing shorter stories to appeal to busy people on the move. The American newspaper The Washington Post is even working on a system for delivering different versions of their articles to different people, based on information about how a user has found an article, what kind of device they are using, and even whether they are holding their device in landscape or portrait mode. People reading on a mobile phone while out during the day will most likely want a short, condensed story, but people reading on a tablet at home may prefer a longer, more detailed article.
Facebook also provides a place for people to share and discuss their opinions on the news. About a third of Facebook users post comments or opinions about politics and government, and many users post about recent events in the news. Sometimes, these discussions lead to groups being formed. Revolutions and protests have also been organized on Facebook, when people have decided to get together to take action.
Social media sites like Facebook have changed our lives in many ways in the last ten years, and its effect on news media is just part of that change. What developments would you like to see?
Vocabulary
access (the news) to reach or find information on news eventsattract cause someone to come to a place by offering something of interest
bite-size small, easy to manage or process
breaking news newly received information about an event that is currently occurring or developing
landscape mode when your mobile phone or tablet is held horizontally
news source a place, person, or thing from which you can get the news
on the move travelling from one place to another
portrait mode when your mobile phone or tablet is held vertically
run (a business) to be in charge of or manage a company
take action do something in order to achieve an aim or deal with a problem
| According to the article, most young people in the USA... read the news in newspapers. post their own news videos online. get their news on the Internet. don't read the news. | |
| 2 | Most readers are attracted to a news site by... adverts on social media. things their friends tell them about the site. articles they see on social media. the site's homepage. |
| 3 | Instant Articles will allow Facebook users to... connect to news sites more quickly. read news articles on Facebook. visit more news sites. read more articles than before. |
| 4 | Facebook selects what you see in your news feed based on... how much time you spend online. how many friends you have got. how popular an article is with other users. how many times you have shared a post. |
| 5 | According to the article... some newspapers are printing shorter stories. people don't read newspapers anymore. people usually read the news at home. newspapers are delivered in different ways these days. |
| 6 | The Washington Post wants to make their articles... small enough to fit on a mobile phone screen. suitable for different kinds of readers. easier to find on social media sites. more interesting to people who can't concentrate. |
| 7 | According to the article, people are more likely to read... longer articles when they are travelling. longer articles when they are using a mobile phone. shorter articles when they are using a tablet. longer articles when they are at home. |
| 8 | According to the article, one in three Facebook users have... joined a Facebook group. posted their opinions on politics online. taken part in a protest. organized their own Facebook group. |
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