Social media have become the primary gateway through which young people access news and information, primarily via personal digital devices (Antunovic et al., 2018; Klopfenstein Frei et al., 2022; Yanardağoğlu, 2021). News exposure occurs both intentionally and incidentally (Silveira & Amaral, 2018), positioning social media as the foundational infrastructure of youth news consumption. Young people who do not access news through social media also tend to disengage from other media (Dvir-Gvirsman, 2022). Unlike previous generations, youth are less likely to establish stable relationships with specific news brands, resulting in fragmented and personalised news repertoires (Russmann & Hess, 2020; Wunderlich et al., 2022). Algorithmically curated feeds prioritise content aligned with user behaviour and interests (Klopfenstein Frei et al., 2022), reflecting broader transformations in how news is defined, circulated, and valued within a complex media ecosystem (Bengtsson & Johansson, 2024). Understanding youth news consumption is therefore essential given its implications for public opinion formation and civic participation (Klopfenstein Frei et al., 2022).
This study examines news consumption across different stages of youth, analysing individuals aged 15–29, divided into adolescents (15–19), emerging adults (20–24) adapted from Arnett (2000), and young adults (25–29). A quantitative methodology was employed using an online questionnaire administered between September 2024 and January 2025. The survey collected responses from 1547 participants, ensuring representativeness of young people residing in Portugal.
Findings confirm that social media are the dominant source of news consumption, with 53.1% reporting daily access and only 4.4% reporting never consuming news on these platforms. Content produced by news organisations coexists with amateur content, potentially obscuring distinctions between factual reporting and opinion. In contrast, only 25.7% report daily television news consumption and 17.7% access newspapers. This is particularly significant given that participants attribute greater credibility to traditional media, yet do not prioritise them in practice. Multiplatform consumption patterns were identified, with frequent social media users also engaging more regularly with traditional news sources. Instagram emerges as the preferred platform, reflecting a preference for short-form visual content. Participants follow news organisation accounts (71%), influencers (53%), and amateur profiles (49.8%), reinforcing the coexistence of professional and non-professional information sources.
These findings highlight critical shifts within contemporary digital information environments, where algorithmically mediated platforms increasingly shape how news is encountered, evaluated, and integrated into everyday life. From a Digital Humanities perspective, this reflects a transition from institutional gatekeeping to hybrid, platform-driven information ecologies, where visibility, engagement metrics, and algorithmic curation influence news exposure. This raises important questions regarding epistemic authority, the stability of journalistic norms, and the capacity of younger generations to navigate complex and often ambiguous information landscapes. While traditional media retain symbolic credibility, their diminished centrality suggests that trust alone no longer determines consumption practices. Instead, accessibility, format, and platform logics play decisive roles. These dynamics underscore the need to critically examine how technological infrastructures reshape knowledge acquisition, media literacy, and civic engagement, positioning social media not merely as distribution channels but as active agents in structuring contemporary informational realities.
References:
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