Report: Millennials Gather News From Social Media and Google
Millennials aren't grabbing their morning newspaper with coffee to catch up on the world's happenings like previous generations, but that doesn't mean they aren't just as informed.
Instead of seeking news directly from media outlets, the mobile-savvy age group is letting the news come to them primarily through social media, according to a report from the American Press Institute.
"How Millennials Get News" found that 85 percent believe staying informed is somewhat important. Eighty-five percent say they get news regularly from Facebook and 70 percent will click on or watch videos shared by friends. Millennials continue to inform their perspective on various new topics through opinions from friends' statuses.
Most (86 percent) believe that these opinions are diverse. To further their understanding of a matter, they use a search engine to research. The top topics that millennials follow are "music, TV, and movies," "hobbies" that are personal to them, "traffic and weather," "sports," and "crime and public safety."
Black millennials, in particular, are less likely to be online to keep up with friends than other groups, at 51 percent versus 71 percent overall. Also, 45 percent are likely to look on Instagram to get updates, more than the 30 percent of Hispanics and 19 percent of whites. Additionally, 33 percent are likely to watch YouTube for news every day compared to 20 percent of white millennials.
The study also reports that millennials under age 25 are more likely to gather news from social media and from a wider range of platforms than millennials over 30.
Read the full report here.
Follow Natelege Whaley on Twitter: @Natelege_.
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