Young Adults and the Future of News
The ways Americans get news and information have transformed dramatically in the 21st century. The news habits of the youngest adults reflect this shift – and may offer some insight into what the future holds.
The ways Americans get news and information have transformed dramatically in the 21st century. The news habits of the youngest adults reflect this shift – and may offer some insight into what the future holds.
About one-in-five U.S. adults say they regularly get news from news influencers on social media, and this is especially common among younger adults.
Overall, 56% of U.S. adults now say they have a lot of or some trust in the information they get from national news organizations – down 11 percentage points since March 2025.
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Publications
Introduction and Summary The Internet audience is not only growing, it is getting decidedly mainstream. Two years ago, when just 23% of Americans were going online, stories about technology were the top news draw. Today, with 41% of adults using the Internet, the weather is the most popular online news attraction. Increasingly people without college […]
Introduction and Summary The Pew Research Center’s biennial news use survey finds that overall Americans are reading, watching and listening to the news just as often as they were two years ago. But the type of news Americans follow and the way they follow it are being fundamentally reshaped by technological change and the post-Cold […]
Introduction and Summary The numbers are still modest but the Internet is beginning to play a role in the news habits of a significant number of American consumers. Over one-in-five Americans now go online — either at home, work or school. Nearly three-fourths of this group sometimes get news from the World Wide Web or […]
Introduction and Summary The number of Americans going online to an information service or directly to the Internet has more than doubled in the past year, but most consumers are still feeling their way through cyberspace. Few see online activities as essential to them, and no single online feature, with the exception of E-Mail, is […]
Summary of Findings As the internet was in its earliest stages as a mass communication medium, the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press undertook a major study investigating the ways in which new and old technology were being integrated into peoples’ lives. The study is based on a survey of 3,667 adults […]