Overestimated information function of Facebook & Co
Social media are primarily used for entertainment and to pass the time. Their contribution to shaping political opinion in Switzerland is likely to be small - also because a good two-fifths of the adult population do not use them at all. This is one of the findings of Publicom's current MediaBrands study.
If you believe the public discourse, the "old" media have long since abdicated because new information platforms have taken over their function. The current MediaBrands study, among others, shows that this has little to do with reality. Although 59 percent of the Swiss population between the ages of 15 and 79 use social media, Facebook and Co. still lag well behind the traditional media of radio, television and newspapers. However, there is a generation gap: While only four out of ten over-fifties are on social media, more than twice as many of the under-thirties are.
Twitter - on everyone's lips, but little used
The most important social media brand is Facebook. In German-speaking Switzerland, a good half of the adult population under 80 uses the brand. This puts Facebook well behind established Swiss media brands such as SRF 1, 20 Minuten, or the consumer magazines of Coop and Migros, and only just ahead of the private channel 3+. Other social media brands such as Instagram or Twitter are even less popular. The short message service Twitter, which has been on everyone's lips since the election of Donald Trump, is used by just one in ten German-speaking Swiss.
Unsympathetic and untrustworthy
The qualitative assessment of these global media brands is also very ambivalent and largely independent of their quantitative use. Facebook and Twitter, for example, are among the least likeable media brands, and their credibility is also very low - in all age groups. Only in terms of entertainment value do social media score well. Instagram in particular stands out in this respect. Remarkably, these assessments differ little in the various language regions.
This shows that although social media, above all Facebook, occupy a central place in the Swiss media landscape, they are primarily used for entertainment purposes. Those who want to get serious information still trust the established Swiss media brands.
With the MediaBrands study, Publicom annually determines the brand performance of media brands among the Swiss population. The 2017 survey was conducted in April and May and is based on a representative sample of 5,098 people aged 15-79. The statistical margin of error is +/- 1.4 percent. For the brands surveyed and further details on the study, go to here.
Image: Pixabay/geralt
