How Does Journalism Affect Teens?

On average, teenagers spend six  hours on social media every day, scrolling, liking, and sharing different photos and videos. During these hours, teenagers view and comment on different news stories online. In today’s society, social media sites like Snapchat and Twitter are common ways youth access news. It may seem like journalism is just writing with stories, but it is much more than that.  Journalism constantly affects teenagers without them even knowing.

As technology changes and advances, so will journalism. Historically, it would take weeks to write a story and get news put to the public. Today, people receive immediate news alerts on their phones. The journalism field is constantly trying to find ways to keep the public informed. 

“Journalism is everywhere; in magazines and social media. It’s a great privilege we have,” Kennedi Adams, the Design Editor, said. 

Applications like Snapchat have short national news reports, and Twitter has news articles on the trending page. A fairly new version of journalism is Youtube. Youtube is mainly known for funny videos, however many news studios post news segments on Youtube. Along with news studios, bloggers will get paid to make videos and give their opinion on events going on around the world.

“Nowadays teens are getting news solely online, like your suggested post on Instagram or Snapchat snap stories. They purposely put in sensational news so people will see it,” Taylor Trapp, Online Editor-in-Chief, said.    

It is important to stay knowledgeable about what is happening in today’s world. Journalism is evolving to help people stay informed and involved with their society. However, the technology can also be a tool that is used to mislead people. Something as simple as posting a video can alter the opinion of millions of people. Journalism is a profession that can either do good and correctly inform, or lead to a misinformed society. Journalism is a powerful field that is constantly affects youth. 
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~Connie Wiggins- Assistant Editor-in-Chief