THE Globe took a visit to Weatherhead High School in Wallasey to see what students thought about the news in 2023.

Weatherhead High School is an all-girls academy school with mixed Sixth Form.

A group of 10 Year 12 students, who all have an interest in a career in journalism, were asked a range of questions about their personal experiences with the news.

Over half of the students in the group, who are all 16 and 17, said they consume news every day or nearly every day. 

Is TikTok becoming the main news source for younger users?

When asked how they gather their news, 80% of the students said social media, with TikTok coming in first place.

On June 14, a Reuters report, stated: "TikTok is the fastest growing social network in the report, used by 20% of 18 to 24-year-olds for news, up five percentage points from last year."

Amelia Nelson, 16, from Weatherhead, said: "I consume the news every day. I use TikTok and Twitter and am interested in celebrity and pop culture news."

Mollie Alexander, 17, said she consumes the news "mostly every day" and uses TikTok and Twitter.

Ella Hall, 17, added: "TikTok provides a range of different views on each topic and the comments section allows for a general opinion to be seen."

17-year-old Em Lawrence said: "The source I tend to get news from most frequently is TikTok as it is a platform I use on the daily and the videos are sorted into my algorithm."

Wirral Globe: Weatherhead High SchoolWeatherhead High School (Image: Chloe Nightingale)

How do Weatherhead students think the news could be better for young people?

The group of sixth-form students were also asked how they think the news could be better for younger users.

Lily Lloyd, 17, said: "I think news could be better for young people if it was more catered to our interests. 

"I also think there should be news about our school such as information to do with curriculum or exams so that students are informed about government decisions to do with our education."

Hannah Taylor, 17, agreed saying that "there should be more sources aimed towards young people covering topics more suited to them".

Grace Wade, 17, argued that some young people don't read the news because sources "criticise" them, while Darla Ann-Marie Kirkham, 17, said that the news "can't be changed" because young people don't want to "read about a world they are trying to escape from".