Comparing news media habits and trust between teens and adults
The Media Insight Project,
A new in-depth study by the Media Insight Project, which surveyed both adults and teens as young as 13 , provides a deep look into how news engagement does and does not vary by generation.
As news organizations work to attract new and younger audiences, understanding how media habits differ across generations is key, especially at a time when our society is at its most age-diverse.
A new Media Insight Project report examines news engagement with a greater level of detail than before, surveying teens as young as 13. The study not only asked about where and how people get news but also discovered how habits vary by the topics people are learning about.
Some key findings:
- More than half of American teens and adults (57%) get news and information from influencers “at least sometimes.” Of teens ages 13-17, 81% say they get news and information from influencers.
- While confidence in news sources is low across the board, local news is the most trusted overall for U.S. teens and adults. But 13- to 17-year-olds have relatively balanced confidence across local and national news outlets and influencers.
- Nearly 7 out of 10 Americans pay for a news product or service or use a service paid for by somebody else. When it comes to using any paid products at all, regardless of who pays, 18- to 34-year-olds (54%) are the least likely to use these news services.
The report delves deeper into several topics:
- The news consumption habits of teens and adults
- Local news
- Influencers and alternative media
- Strengths and weaknesses of news sources
- Media fatigue, trust, misinformation and partisanship
The Media Insight Poll is a collaboration of The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the American Press Institute, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and the Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.