News usage on Instagram: Frequency, motives, evaluation, and the role of political interest

Abstract

Instagram is an increasingly important platform for news consumption. While initial research has examined the characteristics and types of news content on Instagram, little is known about its usage and evaluation. This study explores how adults in Switzerland who frequently use Instagram consume news on the platform; how often they encounter news and whether this is intentional or incidental, their motives for (not) following news accounts; their evaluations of Swiss news accounts; and the role of political interest. Findings show that Instagram is mainly used for entertainment; news consumption is mostly incidental. Higher political interest is associated with more news consumption on Instagram, both intentional and incidental. Respondents with moderate political interest prefer entertainment-oriented outlets. Overall, the findings suggest that adapting to Instagram’s entertaining nature could help media companies to reach larger audiences and inform them on hard news topics such as politics.