X is internet users’ social platform for politics, survey finds

Meanwhile, the U.S. surgeon general has called on Congress to impose warning labels on social media.

by Katie Smith | Jun. 17, 2024

FILE – The opening page of X is displayed on a computer and phone in Sydney on Oct. 16, 2023. An Australian judge has ruled that the social media platform X is subject to a state’s anti-discrimination law even though it does not have an office in Australia. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)

Story at a glance

About 59% of X users say one of the reasons they use the site is to keep up with political issues.

36% of TikTok users and 26% of Facebook or Instagram users said the same.

Nearly 95% of all TikTok users say they’re on the app chiefly because it’s entertaining.

(NewsNation) — When it comes to keeping up with politics on social media, many users turn to X, the findings of a Pew Research Center study suggest.

TikTok, Facebook and Instagram were the next most popular platforms for political information, in that order.

Most X users, about 59%, say one of the reasons they use the site — formerly known as Twitter — is to keep up with political issues, while 36% of TikTok users and 26% of Facebook or Instagram users said the same.

More users turn to TikTok for entertainment and connecting with people with shared interests, according to the survey results. Nearly 95% of all TikTok users say they’re on the app chiefly because it’s entertaining.

Meanwhile, Facebook and Instagram users cited friends and family as their primary motivators for using the platforms.

The U.S. surgeon general has called on Congress to impose warning labels on social media not unlike those required on cigarette boxes. Vivek Murthy wrote in a New York Times opinion piece Monday that social media is contributing to a mental health crisis among young people.