The idea that getting a referral from Facebook was a good thing for news sites is turning out to be not so hot. According to a study from the Pew Research Centre, readers of some of the top US news sites are more engaged when they go directly to the website rather than through Facebook.

The research found that users who come directly to a news site spend about three times as long per visit, or almost five minutes on average. Those who find the news by searching or through Facebook spend about two minutes. Direct visitors also view about five times as many pages per month as those coming through Facebook referrals or through search engines such as Google.

It is showing that news organisations attempts to rustle up readers using social media platforms are not going to work. Yet the research shows that those readers who come to an article or video through Facebook are younger and more fickle in their loyalties.