Friday Digital Digest 21/06/2024 - X is losing its crown as go to news source, unskippable ads hit IG and the Surgeon General calls for health warning
It’s that time of the week again! This edition sees X losing its crown as the go to place for news, Instagram is testing unskippable ads, and the surgeon general is calling for health warning labels on social media.
And as the UK election grows closer we take a deeper look at how social media is shaping voting behaviour.
NEWS
Even though X is supposedly becoming a more trustworthy news source, it’s losing its crown to TikTok which is becoming the go-to source for information for many regions and demographics as the platform extends its reach.
Finbourne is a fintech start-up from London which helps financial services companies do more with their data. It just announced ￡55 million in funding with its series B being co-led by Highland Europe and AXA Venture Partners.
Unsurprisingly, everyone hates it. They’re calling it an ‘ad-break’ (like it's a new concept?) and you’ll not be able to continue your doom scrolling until it's over. There has already been feedback from those who have experienced it about how intrusive it is.
TikTok is looking to corner the social media market with another app in the works. It looks to be called ‘Whee’ and is sitting in app stores but currently undownloadable. The new app aims to help? keep users connected with their close friends “through life's spontaneous moments. (Basically, Instagram circa 2013).
领英推荐
With the growing amount of time that younger generations are spending on social media a day the Surgeon General in the US is calling for health warnings to be put on social media, with increasing evidence that it is having a detrimental effect on mental health
DIGITAL DIGEST
??Social Media and Elections???
With many countries holding elections this year it’s imperative now more than ever to understand the role social media will be playing in how people are voting.
You may have chuckled at some of the memes that have appeared on Labour’s or the Lib Dems TikTok pages poking fun at the Conservatives (and announcing a manifesto), but it highlights an underlying issue of the psychology and behavioural aspects of social media which can lead to darker outcomes.
The BBC recently produced a short video on how social media is targeting certain demographics - setting up 24 different profiles with no profiles to see how each of them are targeted, it highlights a few interesting points 1) the most interacted content doesn;t come from official accounts these usually come in the form of memes and opinions, 2) the highest spender in social media advertising is the Labour Party but quite some considerable distance.
The 2024 election year is going some way to prove this research paper from 2020 correct in how social media is shaping the way the younger population are voting, which also highlights why there is concern over TikTok especially with misleading ads being approved ahead of elections.
This recent piece around how neuroscience helps understand voting behaviour and overwhelming emotion and fear are the two main factors - the article highlights that although politicians are posting more, the number of posts around policies are actually lower, which makes it harder for people to make informed decisions based on rational thought and what truly aligns with their beliefs.
All the above are very interesting reads in themselves and are definitely worth your time ahead of the elections and continued debates.
WORTH A READ ??
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