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Which channels do digital natives choose to access information?

How do digital natives stay informed? In the digital era, more than half of young people choose social media as their main source of information. But “fake news” represents the greatest danger, as only 25% verify a story before sharing it.

Technology has revolutionized both the format and the channels chosen by the new generation to receive or seek information. For younger audiences, short-form video is the preferred format. Print newspapers are consumed by only 14% of people under 30, while television reaches just 19%.

Neither print, nor television, nor radio

Social media arrived as a new technological revolution and is now part of everyday life—not only to stay in touch with loved ones or for entertainment, but also for something that used to be done differently: consuming news. For younger generations, social media has become the new press.

One of the main casualties of the rise of online information is print journalism. The Pew Research Center revealed that only 14% of U.S. adults under 30 said they had read a print newspaper in the past week. Television fares only slightly better: according to the same study, just 19% of respondents regularly consume local TV news. In Europe, the data are similar. The European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) report Young Audiences: News Consumption found that only 18% of young people aged 16 to 24 regularly watch television news.

Traditional media consumption

Why are young people consuming less traditional media? There are several reasons. One of them is distrust. Millennials and Gen Z (and even older adults) are increasingly turning away from traditional outlets.

In the United States, only 28% of adults say they trust newspapers, television, and radio “a great deal” or “a fair amount” to provide information that is complete, accurate, and impartial. Five years ago, that figure stood at 40%, and in 1972 it was 68%, highlighting a clear generational shift in media consumption.

“I grew up seeing how, depending on who is in government, certain TV networks present information in one way or another,” Elena, a young journalism student, told EFE. She also pointed out that “different newspapers can present the same headline in completely different tones depending on their editorial stance.” For that reason, she believes that “those who are not familiar with the processes that take place from when information reaches a newsroom to when it is published may become distrustful.”

Social media as the new press

This decline in traditional media consumption has translated into social media consolidating itself as the preferred source of information among digital natives. According to Save the Children, social media is the primary news source for 60% of young people.

For example, the Eurobarometer Youth Survey revealed that 49% of Spaniards aged 16 to 30 use social media to stay informed about political and social issues.

Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center’s study Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023 found that 95% of U.S. teenagers use YouTube, 67% use TikTok, and 62% use Instagram.

Instagram leads the way

Globally, 39% of young people aged 18 to 24 identify Instagram as their preferred news platform, followed by TikTok (36%) and YouTube (35%), according to the Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report.

In Latin America, this dominance is evident in countries such as Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, where more than 70% of young people get their news through WhatsApp, TikTok, or Instagram.

The Digital Media Trends 2024 report by WAN-IFRA also highlighted that within these platforms, short-form video is currently the dominant format for engaging audiences under 25.

“For example, when I wake up, besides checking my email or WhatsApp messages, I also check my social media—not just to see notifications, but the latest posts, which are often informative,” says Elena. “But I also read online newspapers.”

Under the shadow of “fake news”

Digital journalism is not immune to challenges. Between 2015 and 2024, the proportion of 18- to 24-year-olds who consult online news weekly fell by 13%. The issue is not simply physical versus digital formats, but traditional platforms versus social networks.

One of the main concerns surrounding news consumption on social media is the prevalence of “fake news.” The Pew Research Center reports that 53% of U.S. teenagers say they have encountered false news on social media.

However, not everyone falls for misinformation. The same report indicates that around 25% of teenagers verify news before sharing it. That is only a quarter of the total, “but it’s not that different from how rumors have always worked, even in traditional news—only now they have greater reach,” Elena explains.

Virality as a risk

“The problem,” she adds, “is that by the time false stories are debunked, they’ve already gone viral… and most of the time, the correction doesn’t reach the same audience as the original false claim.”

Moreover, “people often refuse to accept that a story is false when it aligns with their own beliefs, but they tend to distrust news coming from opposing ideologies… The reality is that misinformation arises across all ideological currents.”

And of course, misinformation is not limited to politics. “Celebrities supposedly saying or doing things they never did, miracle cures, diets and supplements promising almost magical physical transformations, and various conspiracy theories are extremely common on social media—and it’s not just young people who fall for them.”

For that reason, Elena recommends “truly taking advantage of the digital era: consuming both traditional newspapers online and social media, and always cross-checking information whenever possible by looking for the original sources.”

Source: ABC
Author: Nora Cifuentes para EFE/REPORTAJES
Pictures: Freepik