Nearly one in 10 American adults, or 8 percent, get news through Twitter, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.
The survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults, conducted in collaboration with the nonprofit John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, found that 16 percent use Twitter while 84 percent do not. Of those who use Twitter, more than half, or 52 percent, "ever" get news there, with news defined as "information about events and issues that involve more than just your friends or family."
The survey comes after Pew last month revealed that about half of adult Facebook users, or 47 percent, get news from the social-networking site, amounting to 30 percent of the U.S. population.
"Compared with the 30 percent of Americans who get news on Facebook, Twitter news consumers stand out as younger, more mobile and more educated," Pew said. Close to half (45 percent) of Twitter news consumers are 18 to 29 years old, and 40 percent have at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 29 percent of the total population.
Mobile devices are a key driver for news consumption on Twitter and elsewhere, the survey found. The "vast majority" of Twitter news consumers, or 85 percent, get news of any kind at least sometimes on their mobile device. Meanwhile, 64 percent of Facebook news consumers, and 40 percent of U.S. adults overall, get news on their mobile phone or tablet.
Separately, Pew tracked and analyzed Twitter conversations around major news events and found three central themes: breaking news is most commonly shared on the micro-blogging site, users' sentiments about the news can shift considerably over time, and conversations don't necessarily correlate with public opinion. The analysis spanned nearly three years and examined Twitter activity around events such as the summer Olympics and the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.
The researchers used computer software to examine which elements of news were being discussed, the tone of tweets, and the ebb and flow of users' sentiment. They found that Twitter is primarily used to pass along pieces of information as a story develops. Following the controversial acquittal of George Zimmerman, for instance, most people shared news of the verdict without offering an opinion.
In addition, Twitter sentiment about big news events can quickly shift. Following the March 2013 Supreme Court hearings on same-sex marriage, overall Twitter sentiment was more opposed to the idea of legalizing same-sex marriage than in favor. But just one month later, support for same-sex marriage outweighed opposition.
Finally, Twitter sentiment is "not a reliable proxy for public opinion," the researchers found. For instance, during the 2012 presidential race, Ron Paul won the Twitter primary. Fifty-five percent of Twitter conversations about him were positive while only 15 percent were negative. Despite the support on Twitter, "voters rendered a very different verdict," Pew pointed out.