Rising social media versus traditional mainstream media

THE HANOI TIMES — Since the early 2000s, the rise of social media has challenged traditional journalism as a source of information for people.

With all the advantages: fast, widespread, easily accessible, and highly interactive, social media outperforms traditional news outlets.

In fact, many people of all age groups and professions now prefer to scroll through social media platforms instead of reading newspapers and magazines, watching TV, or listening to the radio.

Nguyen Tung Lam from Hanoi uses the most popular platforms in Vietnam: Facebook, Zalo, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

He spends about 10 hours a day on social media to work, watch movies, and read the news. "When news breaks, social media updates incredibly fast," Lam said.

Tran Thi Hang, who lives in Ha Giang, said that even in remote areas where radio, TV, and newspapers are easily accessible, social media is a good way to get updated on daily news.

"The good thing about Facebook is that it shares widely and updates quickly. But I only see what the platform wants me to see," she said.

"So I still spend some time listening to the radio, watching the news on TV, and reading online newspapers."

According to Statista.com, the world's most popular social media platforms are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, and TikTok, with a combined total of over 11 billion user accounts.

In Vietnam, Facebook leads with about 90 million users, followed by Zalo, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

The rapid growth of social media over the past 25 years has challenged traditional journalism to retain its audience.

This is both a test and an opportunity for traditional journalism to reaffirm its role in communication, guiding public opinion, and fighting misinformation and harmful content.

Lam and Hang agreed that information on social media tends to give a broad view of events, and people still need trusted news outlets to verify information.

"The most important thing is to know how to filter information," Hang said.

Social media platforms not only share news from official sources but also allow individuals to post their content.

This is risky because such content is often unverified and doesn't come from trusted sources.

A recent example is when someone posted about a mother killing her child for insurance money in the central province of Quang Nam before the police made an official announcement.

Although the information was not false, sharing it before an official conclusion caused some public concern.

In many cases, individuals who share the news before the government confirms it interfere with the course of investigations.

Worse, some extremist groups use social media to spread harmful messages, divide national unity, and disrupt political, economic, and social stability.

Seeing social media as a partner rather than a rival

Official news organizations must evolve and improve their ability to deliver information quickly, accurately, objectively, and persuasively.

This is the key for traditional journalism to guide public opinion in today's chaotic information landscape. In fact, many traditional news organizations are now active on social media platforms. This helps strengthen their position in the modern media environment.

Nguyen Manh Hung, the Minister of Science and Technology, said news organizations should see social media as a partner rather than a competitor.

"For years, journalism has focused on reporting, but now social media does it faster, with millions of sources, for free, everywhere," he said.

To remain relevant, traditional media must do what social media cannot, return to the core values of journalism: reliable, accurate, and responsible reporting with professional ethics, he added.

Instead of reporting the news, journalists should analyze, evaluate, offer solutions, and tell stories to guide and shape public thinking.

"In the physical world, journalism took the lead. Now, in the digital world, journalism must lead the main flow of information," the minister said.

"The best way to compete with social media is to be different, to stick to our core values. Use social media technology to do journalism, interact more, and treat social media as a tool, platform, and environment to appear in," Hung said.

Nguyen Dong Anh, Deputy Head of the Department of Communication and International Culture at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said better Internet access and more electronic devices are the main reasons why social media has grown so fast.

He explained that most users of digital platforms are young people, especially Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012), who have grown up with tablets, smartphones, and laptops.

Digital platforms allow for direct interaction between content creators and audiences, which makes the experience more engaging and easier to share.

He added that the convenience of sharing information through technology makes communication seamless, but it can also spread false information and mislead young audiences.

To solve this problem, people need to actively evaluate, filter, and verify the information they receive.

"Official media are now using multiple platforms, including social media. If users want trustworthy information, they should follow verified accounts and set them to appear as priority news," Anh said.

He noted that anyone can now act like a journalist: posting text, photos, and videos anytime, anywhere.

Meanwhile, professional journalists need time to research, verify, and edit content before publishing, which makes them slower than social media.

"This is a big challenge. Journalists and media professionals must become the main source of fast and accurate news to keep up," he added.

"Fast, truthful, and objective information, along with well-reasoned commentary, is the key for traditional journalism to guide public opinion in today's media environment," he emphasized.