Social media has overtaken news websites as a source of news for Australian adults, according to ACMA data released in May.
The report found that free-to-air TV has remained the most used news platform in 2025, with 51 per cent of Australian adults accessing it in the seven days prior to the ACMA survey.
Social media and communication apps were the second most used at 43 per cent, followed by news websites and apps at 39 per cent.
Master’s student Adam Pierce said that his news habits have reflected the broader shift toward platform-based news sources.
“I primarily use Reddit and YouTube for news,” Mr Pierce said.
Mr Pierce said that social media makes exposure to news easier to control, especially when stories feel overwhelming.
“For my mental health, I don’t want to be inundated with stories that exacerbate my worries. The convenient thing about getting news on social media is being able to just scroll past, and also getting stories that are algorithmically recommended to you,” he said.
Mr Pierce acknowledged that the same convenience could be limited and lead to misinformation.
“Sometimes I just spot the headline and see what others are saying,” he said. “The problem with that, of course, is the potential to react to something that isn’t conveying the full picture,” Mr Pierce.
The ACMA data has also showed that among people who accessed news through social media or communication apps, professionally produced news media outlets were the most common source at 60 per cent.
Trusted professionals followed at 41 per cent, while official or government sources accounted for 35 per cent.
The University of Canberra’s Digital News Report: Australia 2025 also found that social media has overtaken traditional news websites.
University of Canberra’s News and Media Research Centre Director, Prof Sora Park said the shift raises concerns about misinformation.
“This year, Australians were the most concerned about misinformation, globally,” Professor Park said.
Professor Park said stronger platform regulation will be needed as audiences rely more heavily on social media.
“With the increase in reliance on social media platforms for news consumption, policies on social media content moderation must be reviewed and tightened, ” she said.
The ACMA figures come from its annual consumer survey and measure the share of Australian adults who accessed news in the previous seven days to June 2025.
