To answer these questions, the Pew Research Center analysed young people’s news habits. In its research published in December 2025, it found that only 15% of those aged between 18 and 29 said they follow the news all or most of the time, which is far below the 62% of adults 65 and older.
These young people are also less likely than older groups to closely follow national, local, political, science or business news. Instead, news finds them, with around 70% saying they come across political news while doing other things, rather than them looking for it on purpose.
Low engagement
It seems that emotions play a part in young people’s avoidance of the news. They are more likely than older adults to say news makes them feel “scared” or “confused”, with about a third saying they feel this way “extremely often” – and some explicitly describe avoiding news “for my sanity.”
The role of social media
Smartphones and social media feeds are the new television and newspapers for young adults, with around 93% saying they at least sometimes get news from digital devices.
Young people under 30 are much more likely to read or come across news on social media, with Instagram and TikTok featuring as the main sources.
Influencers are also playing a greater role. Pew found that around 38% of young adults regularly got their news from “news influencers” – people with large followings who frequently post about news or politics. For better or worse, many say that they trust influencer news more than traditional outlets because they already relate to them or share their views.
The future of journalism
Pew found that young American adults are more willing than older people to trust information on social media. However, they are also less likely than older adults to trust traditional local or national news organisations, often feeling that they need to look at alternative sources to get the full story.
Interestingly, they also view newsletter writers, podcasters and social media creators all as ‘journalists’, not considering the trained journalist’s job of presenting a balanced, accurate and fully fact-checked story.
These changing views and behaviours around news may well shape how news is produced and consumed in the future. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
References
- Young Adults and the Future of News. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2025/12/03/young-adults-and-the-future-of-news/ (Accessed 23 March 2026)
