According to the research, some 10% of people log on to Facebook for their updates compared to 11% for radio.Although the study said that traditional media continues to be the most popular way of consuming news, 15% of all consumers turn to Facebook for their news during the week, with the social network almost as popular as radio for evening news.

Lightspeed Research, which surveyed 1,000 people about their news consumption through an online panel during October, found that 4% of all respondents visit Facebook for news while commuting, with this rising to 11% of 18-24-year-olds.

One in ten said they source news from Facebook once they are home in the evening, increasing to 23% of 18-24-year-olds.

Some 38% said TV is their main source of news, with online news sources almost as popular (29%). One in ten said Facebook was their main source of news, while three quarters (74%) said they go online to read more about a news story they heard on TV or radio.

Ralph Risk, marketing director at Lightspeed Research Europe, said: “While traditional media like TV, radio and newspapers continue to dominate the way we consume news, the increasing number of ways in which we can access world updates has changed where we go for news at different times of the day.

“What is revealing in this research is how the social networking phenomenon is impacting news consumption for everyone,” he added. “It may not be that surprising that accessing news on Facebook is most popular with 18-24-year-olds, but what we see here is how it is starting to become a news source for other age groups.”

Separately, a study has found that the Daily Mail’s website is the most shared UK newspaper website on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, with links to its pages being shared an average of 2.9m times a week. It was followed by the Guardian with 2.6m and The Telegraph with 879,783, according to search and social marketing analytics agency Searchmetrics.