A Snapshot of Media and Social Media Use Among Texas Voters

While the mass media environment over the last three decades has been subject to more or less constant waves of change as a result of major shifts in communication technology – the internet and cell phones being only the most obvious innovations – the last few years have been unusually dynamic in terms of the spread of new media outlets and options for consuming political news. With these shifts in mind, the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll recently checked in with Texas voters to take some soundings of their media habits and views. In December 2022, we asked which media they used as a source for news in the previous week. Then, in February 2023, we followed up with more specific questions about use of different social media platforms, and voters’ views of them. Below, we break down those results, and look into the different media ecosystems of the state’s Republican and Democratic voters.

While some of the results are not surprising – the kids like TikTok a LOT more than their parents or grandparents – other results shed some interesting light on where different groups of Texans are looking for news, and where different groups have settled, at least for now, in the social media universe that is now central to the daily habits of many Texans. 

Below are some primary observations, with additional information and insights within each section below the summary:

• Overall Media Use
  • Local television stations remain one of the primary sources of news for most Texans (43%) but is statistically tied in its saturation with “social media, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, [and] TikTok” (42%).
  • Only two social media outlets attracted a majority of users from among the Texas electorate: 84% of Texas voters said that they had used YouTube in the last month, while 77% said that they had used Facebook.
  • Men were significantly more likely than women to say that they had used Twitter in the last month (51% compared to 39%), while women were more likely to say that they had used Facebook (81% compared to 72%) and Instagram (52% compared to 43%).
• GOP Media Use and Views
  • The most prevalent source of news for Texas’ Republican voters comes from local television (44%), with cable television news and their websites nearly identical in their reach (42%), followed somewhat closely by social media (37%).
  • Republican men were significantly more likely than GOP women to get their news from traditionally conservative sources like cable television or their websites (50% compared to 35%), conservative news websites (36% compared to 23%), and talk radio (30% compared to 23%), while nearly equal share of male and female Republicans got their information from local television (44% compared to 43%) and social media (37% compared to 38%).
  • Asked their opinion of different social media platforms, only YouTube was viewed favorably by a majority of Republicans (53%), with no more than 36% holding a positive view of any of the social media platforms tested.
  • 52% of GOP voters under 30 hold a favorable view of TikTok, but no more than 25% of any other cohort holds similar views.
• Democratic Media Use and Views
  • Texas’ Democratic voters showed greater variety in their media consumption than Texas Republicans, with social media and local news a source for 50%, followed by broadcast television news and websites (44%), cable news and their respective websites (41%), national newspapers and their websites (34%), and local newspapers and their websites (32%).
  • A majority of Democratic voters said that they had used four social media applications as a source for news in the previous month: Twitter (50%), Instagram (56%), Facebook (78%), and YouTube (88%).
  • Democrats hold only slightly more positive views of social media platforms than the overall electorate, with 74% holding a positive view of YouTube, 45% a positive view of Facebook, 44% of Instagram, and then fewer than 36% holding a positive view of any other platform.
• Political Independents and the Media
  • Political independents appear to consume less media for news on the whole than do partisans. Among independents, those voters who say that they don’t identify with or even lean towards one party or the other, no more than 31% said that they had consumed any of the 14 sources of media for news in the last week.

Overall Media Use

Local television stations remain one of the primary sources of news for most Texans (43%) but is statistically tied in its saturation with “social media, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, [and] TikTok” (42%). Slightly more than a third of Texans (38%) said that they turned to cable news, while slightly fewer (33%) said that they had gotten their news from broadcast television stations or their websites, like ABC, CBS, and NBC.

Maybe surprisingly, YouTube was the next most widespread source for news (27%) followed by local newspapers or their websites (24%) — such as they exist in 2023. Fewer than one in four Texans said that they had used any of the 8 sources of news tested in the battery in the prior week, including national newspapers or their website (21%), other national news websites (19%), talk radio (18%), international newspapers or their websites (17%), conservative news websites (16%), podcasts (15%), other news sources (13%), and liberal or progressive news websites (10%).

While there are significant partisan differences in media usage patterns between Republicans and Democrats that will be addressed below, some of the largest differences in media use patterns are, unsurprisingly, found between different age cohorts. While just under one-third of Texans over the age of 65 used social media as a news source (32%) in the week prior to the survey, 59% said that they used local television news. Among voters under 30, usage patterns were reversed, with only 22% relying on local television news, but 59% getting news from a social media platform.

YouTube was another source for news where age seemed determinative of use patterns: 43% of 18-29 year olds, 35% of 30-44 year olds, 23% of 45-64 year olds, and only 15% of those over the age of 65 said that they had used the popular video platform for news in the prior week.

Some of the other, large discrepancies in use had to do with national and international newspapers, with significantly more college-educated Texans using national newspapers or their websites in the previous week compared to Texans without a post-secondary degree (34% compared to 13%), with a similar pattern of use for international newspapers (26% compared to 12%).

Asked more specifically in February 2023 polling about social media use, two platforms saw significantly more use than the rest: 84% of Texas voters said that they had used YouTube in the last month, while 77% said that they had used Facebook. Fewer than a majority of voters said the same about any other platform, with 48% using Instagram, 44% using Twitter, 31% using TikTok, 29% using LinkedIn, 27% using Reddit, 23% using Snapchat, and significantly fewer using newer, conservative branded social media platforms Truth Social (8%) and Parler (4%).

While Facebook use was widespread, it was less common among voters under 30 (69%) compared with older voters (81% of 30-44 year olds; 76% of 45-64 year olds; 79% of those over the age of 65). Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok displayed the opposite pattern, with use highest among voters under 30, and declining among each successive cohort.

Unsurprising given its professional focus, LinkedIn use was significantly more common among college educated (43%) Texans than among Texans without a college degree (21%). 

Men were significantly more likely than women to say that they had used Twitter in the last month (51% compared to 39%), while women were more likely to say that they had used Facebook (81% compared to 72%) and Instagram (52% compared to 43%).

Responses to a series of questions asking whether they hold a favorable or unfavorable view of the same set of social media platforms reveals that use does not necessarily equate to high-regard. While 63% of Texas voters said that they held a favorable view of YouTube, no more than 38% held a favorable view of any of the 10 other social media platforms tested*.

GOP Media Use and Views

Like voters overall, the most prevalent source of news for Texas’ Republican voters comes from local television (44%), with cable television news and their websites nearly identical in their reach (42%), followed somewhat closely by social media (37%). Fewer than 29% of Republicans said that they had received their news from any of the 11 other sources of news tested.

Patterns in media use among Republican voters differs by age in ways similar to overall media usage (only 16% of GOP voters under-30 said they used local television as a source of news in the past week, 19% said the same of cable news, while 50% said that they had used social media).

Gender differences in media use among Republicans were more striking. Republican men were significantly more likely than GOP women to get their news from traditionally conservative sources like cable television or their websites (50% compared to 35%), conservative news websites (36% compared to 23%), and talk radio (30% compared to 23%), while nearly equal share of male and female Republicans got their information from local television (44% compared to 43%) and social media (37% compared to 38%).

Social media use among Republican voters in Texas was most widespread on two platforms: YouTube (80%) and Facebook (78%). No other platform captured more than 40% of Republicans (Instagram), while targeted newcomers Truth Social and Parler only saw 12% and 4% of Republicans, respectively, saying that they had used either in the last month.

Like all voters, age clearly impacts social media use among Republicans in Texas. Facebook appears to have the most saturation among Republican voters of different ages followed by YouTube. Instagram is being used by 82% of Republican voters under 30, while Twitter is only used by 48% of that group. Among Republicans, Twitter is most popular among those between 30 and 44 (64% had used it in the last month), compared to 48% of Republicans under 30, and fewer than 1 in 3 Republicans in the older cohorts.

There were also notable gender differences among Republican voters in their social media use patterns, with 88% of female Republicans, but only 69% of male Republicans claiming to have used Facebook in the last month; 45% of GOP women saying the same about Instagram compared to 35% of GOP men; and, in a reverse of the pattern, 43% of GOP men claiming to use Twitter compared to 32% of GOP women.

Asked their opinion of the same social media platforms, only YouTube was viewed favorably by a majority of Republicans (53%), with no more than 36% holding a positive view of any of the social media platforms tested.

Younger GOP voters were more likely to hold positive views towards some of the social media platforms compared to older cohorts of GOP voters. For example, 52% of GOP voters under 30 hold a favorable view of TikTok, but no more than 25% of any other cohort holds similar views. Facebook is viewed positively by 48% of Republicans under 30 and 51% of GOP voters between 30 and 44, but no more than 29% of the older cohorts.

Democratic Media Use and Views

Texas’ Democratic voters showed greater variety in their media consumption, with social media and local news a source for 50%, followed by broadcast television news and websites (44%), cable news and their respective websites (41%), national newspapers and their websites (34%), and local newspapers and their websites (32%).

Like the overall electorate, and similar to GOP voters, patterns of media use varied significantly by age. Nearly 3/4 of Democratic voters under 30 (73%) said that they had used social media as a source of news, compared to no more than 54% of any of the older cohorts (and only 36% of Democrats over 65). In an almost mirror image, 73% of Democrats over 65 had relied on local television news in the past week, compared to 33% of Democratic voters under 30 (and only 36% of those between 30 and 44), while 72% of the oldest Democrats relied on broadcast television news compared to only 21% of Democrats under 30.

A majority of Democratic voters said that they had used four social media applications as a source for news in the previous month: Twitter (50%), Instagram (56%), Facebook (78%), and YouTube (88%). TikTok was the next most widely-used platform (37%), but driven primarily by younger Democrats, with 59% of those voters under 30 using the platform in the prior month, 39% of those between 30 and 44, 31% of 45 to 64 year olds, and only 21% of those over the age of 65.

Among Democrats, gender differences in media consumption habits and social media use were far less pronounced than among Republican voters.

Democrats hold only slightly more positive views of social media platforms than do voters as a group, with 74% holding a positive view of YouTube, 45% a positive view of Facebook, 44% of Instagram, and then fewer than 36% holding a positive view of any other platform.

Younger Democrats hold generally positive views of social media compared to older cohorts, with a majority of Democrats under 30 having a favorable view of five of the ten social media platforms tested, compared to no more than two of the ten platforms among any of the older cohorts. 

Political Independents and the Media

Independents appear to consume less media for news on the whole than do partisans. Among independents, those voters who say that they don’t identify with or even lean towards one party or the other, no more than 31% said that they had consumed any of the 14 sources of media for news in the last week. This likely reflects a basic disposition that often defines political independents in such fiercely partisan times: a general lack of engagement with politics, as seen here in news media consumption habits.

Social media use among independents tended to be less than for Democrats, but in some cases more than among Republicans depending on the platform (Twitter, TikTok, and Reddit).

Like GOP voters in Texas, a majority of independents said they held a favorable view of just one social media platform, YouTube (51%), with no more than 29% holding a favorable view of any other platform.

These results and more can be found in the Texas Politics Project polling search archive.