Contrary to a popular misconception, younger people are paying attention to the news ”“ albeit with mostly minimal enthusiasm and a decided slant for the lighter side of the information cycle.
Media Insight Project, a collaboration between The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the American Press Institute, conducted a survey of nearly 6,000 Americans between the ages 16 and 40 (spanning the Gen Z and millennial demographics), and the primary finding was that 79% of respondents reported they get news on a daily basis.
The survey found 45% of respondents get their daily news from traditional sources (television or radio stations, newspapers and news websites) while 71% said they rely on social media ”“ with roughly one-third or more tapping into YouTube and Instagram, about one-quarter relying on TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter and 40% using Facebook as a news source.
As for the topics people that are being followed, 49% of respondents put news regarding celebrities, music and entertainment at the top of their list, with 48% citing a focus on food and cooking. At least one-third follow a variety of other issues including health and fitness, race and social justice, the environment, health care, education, politics and sports.
However, only 32% of respondents said they enjoy following the news, and fewer said they enjoy talking with family and friends about the news.
“There are people who have grown up in this world of political food-fight media, and this is the only world they know,” said Tom Rosenstiel, a University of Maryland journalism professor who worked on the survey. “They might have heard their parents talk about Walter Cronkite, but they haven”™t seen that.”
