Young People May Follow The News But Aren’t Happy With What They’re Reading, Claims New Study

A new survey is shedding light on the news reading habits/trends of the younger generation and what their take is on the content being published.

According to the poll, most young people in America are definitely following the news of today. However, they may not be enjoying what they’re reading.

The findings came as a part of a new study that was published on Wednesday. This showed how 80% of the younger generation in America receive the news daily. This age group includes those between 16 to 40. The older generation is called the Millennials while the younger lot has been dubbed Gen Z.

The research was carried out by the Media Insight Project and was considered to be a collab between the American Press Institute and the Associated Press- NORC Center.

In this particular poll, we see the research dive deep into understanding how uninterested the younger generation is in news. And this perception has come about thanks to statistics.

Older audiences enjoy news in the form of TV or even newspapers. They’re definitely more engaged than others. However, the latter tends to be criticized a lot and is usually not given credit where it's due.

Gen Z receives most of its news through online sources like social media. And these sources are also varying with each passing day. Remember, Facebook is no longer a dominant player on the news front.

Hence, now it’s a rivalry between both YouTube and Instagram as that’s where most of the news comes from. And then you have TikTok, Twitter, and Snap taking a punch in the race as well, providing a quarter of the news.

Facebook accounts for 40% of the news shared online, which has dropped from 57% as recorded in the past. Meanwhile, around 45% of those surveyed said their news source was also very classic like the TV, radio station, newspaper, and news-based websites as well.

Interestingly, the findings also showed how a quarter of the younger lot pays for around one news product such as a newspaper or a digital magazine. And the same number of people claim donated to around one news-based non-profit organization too.

But out of these respondents, only 33% like what they’re following online. And even a smaller percentage of Gen Z claim they enjoy speaking about trending news these days with others.

So many readers feel worse after glancing over the news as there’s a weariness about the whole situation. But the study also found how 9 in 10 young readers stated the root problem to be misinformation presented online. And a lot of them have been exposed to it.

As far as who is the most likely culprit of so much misinformation spread online, well, no surprises here. Gen Z pointed fingers at social media companies which they claim like authoritative checks to make sure facts coming out are true before they’re published on their platforms.

This just might not make many social media apps happy because they claim to be fighting a war of misinformation and are doing everything in their power to ward it off as well.

So many young readers have grown up in households where politics and news have been at the forefront of discussion and that’s why they’ve had enough of it. So many debates, controversies, and problems arise and many just don’t wish to be associated with it.

A lot of Generation Z readers would much rather watch the news for celebrities, music, movies, entertainment, travel, food, and other light-hearted things. And then there’s a third that follows matters linked to health and fitness, sports, justice, and education. So as you can see, the findings are definitely unique.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

It may come as a surprise to some but Gen Z still uses Facebook

Ever since Instagram came into the picture, Facebook has always been sidelined by the younger generation. They see it as an app used by old people and an app that is full of conspiracy theories then TikTok also made its debut and stole away the hearts of youngsters, but, according to new data posted by Data.ai, in the US the most used social media app by Gen Z is Facebook based on monthly user data.

That should be surprising right? It isn't.

Why? Because in the second list of the chart, apps like Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are more likely to be used by Gen Z, as compared to the overall population of the United States but, according to data Gen Z is regularly logging into apps like Facebook and Messenger.

According to Data.ai themselves, users from ages 18-29 have self-reported that they have turned away from using social media but all other apps that track usage have had their usage time increased.

However, it should be noted that data.ai's revelations are purely based on actual usage, which shows that around the world the younger generation instead of becoming less active has become more active on social media. This clears that younger users are not inching away from social media at all. There is also one more point of note here and that is data.ai's collection is completely from Android phones and no iOS phones were reviewed. This makes their data a bit segregated but it is enough to provide a general insight into the usage patterns of the younger generation.

The chart above which shows Monthly Active Users, does not in any way account for the time spent on one app. so if someone just logs into the app for a couple of minutes only to check on family and friend updates will be included in the official charts. This is a major key point that many often overlook and is the reason why MUA charts are now not widely used as a measure of engagement.

While Gen Z does often engage more frequently in their favorite social media apps than others it is not always the best for the actual time spent on the app. As a matter of fact, in both Germany and the US, Gen Xers spent 25% more time on social media than Gen Z.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

This New WhatsApp Feature Will Let You Send Messages to Yourself Across Multiple Devices

WhatsApp has been working on multi-platform compatibility for quite some time now, but in spite of the fact that this is the case many users have been claiming that their features are not quite yet up to the mark.

Several features are missing on separate devices, one of which is a self chat window that users can use to send messages for themselves. Such self chat windows are important because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing users to set note things down to remember later, and in light of that WhatsApp is making this feature compatible with various devices.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that users will now be able to see themselves at the top of the contact list, as spotted by WBI. Tapping on their name will take them to a chat window where they can send messages to themselves. The update here is that any message you send to the self chat window will become immediately visible on WhatsApp applications that you utilize on other devices.

This is a step in the right direction, but WhatsApp would need to add considerably more functionality such as the ability to delete messages on all devices from a single one. Location tracking links should also be shared across all devices, and since WhatsApp is notoriously slow at rolling out updates users might need to wait a long time before they can get additional features for the new self chat window.

The update is currently being data tested, so it is currently unclear when it shall receive a wider rollout. However, its development is fully underway so most users would be able to start using it within a few weeks at most. When it gets rolled out it will likely add a lot of much needed functionality to WhatsApp Web and other apps for multiple devices. Updates like these can help WhatsApp maintain its dominance of the instant messaging industry despite some up and coming competitors like Signal and Telegram.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Google Might Start Allowing Review Gating on Maps Again

Google Maps was initially meant to be an app that allowed users to get directions online, but it quickly diversified into a wider range of offerings because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making it more useful to the average user. In spite of the fact that this is the case, not all of the features that Google Maps have offered have been useful strictly speaking, and the review feature is a good example.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Google might be trying to remove its review gating policy on Google Maps. Review gating basically refers to any attempt to dissuade customers from leaving bad reviews and encouraging or incentivizing them to leave good ones with all things having been considered and taken into account. The ban on review gating was meant to improve the quality of reviews and make them more reliable, but it seems that Google is trying to entice business owners by removing this policy.

Compare:https://t.co/e7Ra22oLK5 https://t.co/Ulc22xbySP

— Chris Silver Smith (@si1very) August 22, 2022

However, despite initial appearances it seems like the removal of this policy is not quite as business user oriented as one may have thought. The Federal Trade Commission has recently cracked down on review gating, which makes having a policy on this less useful for Google than might have been the case otherwise. Google also has a separate fake engagement policy which covers much of the same ground that the review gating policy did, so this might just be an attempt on Google’s part to strip its usage policy down in the interests of making it more concise.

Whatever the case may be, any change to Google’s user policy is important since it can impact that the direction that the tech juggernaut might be headed in. It is interesting to see Google slimming its usage policy down, since this indicates that the company is attempting to make it clearer which is markedly different from how other tech companies try to bury the facts in pointless legalese that most users can’t read.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Research Finds Nearly 1,800 iOS Apps Leaking AWS Credentials and Harming the Supply Chain

Amazon’s main revenue generator is of course its immense ecommerce platform, but in spite of the fact that this is the case the corporate juggernaut has also created an additional source of income through Amazon Web Services. A team of analysts working at Symantec recently found that there are around 1,859 applications that possess vulnerabilities that could give malicious actors easy access to AWS credentials.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this poses a huge risk to the supply chain. 77% of these applications had valid tokens for accessing AWS servers hard coded into their backend, which is risky because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing hackers to enter private servers if they their hands on these credentials.

The vast majority of these apps were for iOS, with only 37 being for Android phones with all things having been considered and taken into account. Businesses often store very sensitive client data, and B2B transactions that are crucial to the functioning of the global supply chain can be exposed due to them being hard coded.

Businesses working with other commercial entities often give them an SDK, or software development kit, and this SDK is what contains the cloud credentials. Malicious actors may be able to use these credentials and pose as legitimate clients, and that can disrupt the supply chain in numerous ways.

There are already a number of issues that are clogging up the supply chain, and vulnerabilities can make matters even worse than might have been the case otherwise. Supply chain issues are some of the main driving factors behind inflation, and unless something is done to patch these loopholes we might start to see even more disruptions down the line.

Many businesses forget that they have hard coded credentials, so if they were to revamp their systems they’d be able to mitigate the problem for a while. Structural change is necessary otherwise exploitation of vulnerabilities will continue for be an issue.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Meta Publishes New Overview On Its Video Ranking Algorithms

In case you were not already aware, Meta is working hard at promoting its video content on the app.

The company says Reels are doing great at bringing in more revenue and therefore it makes sense why there is so much emphasis on the feature.

To be more specific, Reels have been applauded as the company’s fasting growing surface for engagement. And it's already taking up nearly 20% of people’s watch time across the platform.

Hence, there’s a new push for Reels and ways to better boost its presence and performance on Facebook and Instagram. Therefore, if you’re a creator who’s keen on making the best Reels out there, this post is surely for you.

This week, the tech giant was seen going public with an overview that shed light on its ranking algorithms linked to videos. These came with helpful and very detailed explanations of all the kinds of elements involved.

At the same time, there was a major emphasis on what Meta takes into consideration when deciding the final reach of a particular video post. As a whole, four key subunits had been identified.

The first one was related to originality. This is in line with the company’s push to increase the number of creators on the app while providing more exposure to different apps too.

Meta mentioned how a lot of original videos are designed to reflect the opinions and values of the creators themselves. They are awfully unique, putting forward content that’s never been created before. Then there was the company reiterating how they always prioritize original content over everything else so that credit goes where it’s due the most.

Now that sounds great but how exactly does the company ensure content coming through is really authentic? Well, it needs to be made by you and then published on your page. In the same way, some more unique additions can be included in other types of material. But reposting is not in demand and isn’t allowed.

Therefore, those who wish to reshare posts should be well aware of the fact that the reach will definitely be going down on this one, as compared to the original content.

The second factor has to do with ‘Capturing and Retaining Attention’. Anything that has captured the viewers’ attention and inspired others to watch the end of the content is definitely going to be promoted more on the app.

Meta says that it gauges this through analytics and graphs. Anything that witnesses a slow decline over time means it’s doing well with the audience. But if there’s a sharp drop, well, it was never meant to be of interest to anyone.

To put it simply, there has to be something in there that causes the audience to stay tuned and maximize its engagement. Alongside this, Meta is emphasizing on content length not being such a huge factor of importance.

For them, content needs to be as long as it has to be, ensuring it's relatable to the intended audience and continues to engage them. Good production quality and burned-in captions also tend to go a long way, the firm adds.

Next in line, Meta feels the concept of repeat viewership is so important. This includes the likes of loyalty as well as the intent of the content. After all, viewers coming back for more means they’re loving what they’re seeing.

Last but not least, Meta feels Engagement carries a significant amount of weightage. Be it Likes, Comments, or Shares- the firm prioritizes this so much. It’s this that ignites users to communicate and engage on the app.

Anytime that ends up promoting discussions to the next level is the sort of engagement that the app is in search of.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Cybersecurity Experts Warn Against New Email Phishing Scam Where Hackers Pose As Instagram

A new phishing scam is on the rise since late July and cybersecurity experts are issuing an immediate warning against it.

If you happen to be getting a bizarre email that confirms your verification on an app like Instagram, beware because the chances of it being a scam are incredibly high.

Thanks to a new report by VadeSecure, which is a leading firm for cybersecurity, we’re getting details about the scam that began in July 2022. A lot of users have been getting all sorts of emails surrounding the same theme.

Hackers are posing as people from Instagram and that just makes it impossible to detect, one expert explained. Moreover, the email could also be seen confirming a user’s profile getting reviewed and approved for final verification.

For the subject line, you’ll see the title, ‘ig blue-badge info’ arise and the email address would be linked to ‘ig badges’. At first, some users would feel the email is very real and true, as both logos from Meta’s Facebook and Instagram can be seen arising. These are spotted on the top and the bottom of the mail.

These smart tactics used by hackers are clear evidence that they’re doing everything in their power to trick the user into thinking it’s as real as can be. But the truth is far from that as the intent is nothing but malicious.

But there are several misspellings seen and very evident formatting mistakes that don’t require a specialist to detect.

The phishing scam is the name given to a huge issue where hackers make use of bait such as in this case, where the chance is to achieve verification across Instagram. This way, victims end up clicking malicious links and plugging in their personal details too. And the interesting part is how the scams usually occur through emails and that’s why security software has trouble blocking or filtering these.

Instagram is also very well aware of all this. They mentioned recently in their Help Center that the whole process linked to verification occurs through this application and never through emails. Hence, those receiving such bogus emails need to be informed about the hackers behind them.

And requests for verification are not applied to everyone. Instead, they are for those including celebs, brands, or a particular public figure. Hence, if and when you do receive such things, the best thing to do is ignore them and then delete them.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World