A new survey finds about 1/3 of Americans get news from Facebook.
Pew says 47% of adults on Facebook get news there whether they were looking for it or not. That number extrapolates out to about 30% of the population as a whole.
Younger users of the social network are especially heavy news consumers accounting for about 34% of all those who get their news from Facebook.
78 percent of those who consume news on Facebook do so after visiting the site for another reason. Just 4 percent said Facebook is the most important way they get news. In general, many think that Facebook is a good way to hear about breaking news without actually seeking it out.
Even so, “the survey provides evidence that Facebook exposes some people to news who otherwise might not get it,” Pew said. For instance, 38 percent of “heavy news followers” say Facebook is an important way to get news, compared to 47 percent who follow news less often.
