Do you still listen to friends, family and experts when making decisions? How much does social media affect your thinking? This is something I’m interested in in our 2024 Communication Survey (please follow the link in the comments box below), because if we are to believe what we hear, more and more of us are relying on social media influencers rather than experts of family or friends to make our decisions.

But is this true and does it matter?

At one time advertisers on mainstream TV would try and influence our purchasing habits but unsurprisingly Business Wire recently reported that, with the shift to on demand TV and personalised content, traditional TV advertising is losing its effectiveness.

And it’s not just advertising that influences our decisions, what about how we get our news? More and more of us are digesting news in a different way than we used to. According to the Press Gazette, traditional newspaper sales are plummeting. In January 2000, the combined circulation of major UK newspapers was around 21.2 million but by January 2020, this number had fallen to about 7.4 million. So where are we getting our news today? Many of us (including me) are getting it from digital sources and it seems some people, (not me!) prefer to​ trust people they follow on social media rather than the mainstream outlets.

According to The Global Web Index (GWI) 2024 report social media is gaining ground when it comes to the influences on our behaviour. The report also shows how AI is getting better and better on some platforms, at targeting specific audiences. 

Family, friends and mainstream news outlets may still be crucial influences on our lives and the decisions we make. However, the growing dominance of social media and now AI, shows there is a shift towards greater influence from digital platforms. Whether we like it or not this trend is likely to continue as social media maintains its dominance in our daily lives and who knows what platforms will emerge in the coming years.

How much does social media influence your decision making?