News on Youth

Almost three-quarters want to know the news, with 51% of the 1,000 respondents surveyed at the start of May saying it was important and 23% saying it was very important. Meanwhile 25% of female respondents said news was not very important.

Q Research has just completed a survey of news consumption among 11-25-year-olds on our mobile phone panel. We wanted to understand how important news is to young people and which sources they use. In particular, we wanted to assess how much this generation relies on the internet and mobile phones to access the news rather than the traditional sources of newspapers, TV and radio. Liam Corcoran, MD of Q Research discusses the findings.

Almost three-quarters want to know the news, with 51% of the 1,000 respondents surveyed at the start of May saying it was important and 23% saying it was very important. Meanwhile 25% of female respondents said news was not very important.

Respondents were asked to select all their sources of news. TV topped the list at 85%, followed by newspapers at 66% of respondents. News websites (excluding those of newspapers) and radio were a tied choice at 46%. Just 28% said that they use newspaper websites, less than those who read magazines for the news (31%).

There are key differences in media choice by age and gender. The older the respondents, the more likely they are to use digital for their news. While TV is the top choice for all age groups, respondents aged 21-25 are most likely to use newspaper websites - 44%, compared to 28% of 16-20-year-olds and only 16% for 11-16-year-olds. However, the younger respondents are using other news sites, with 46% of 16-20-year-olds and 42% of 11-16-year-olds logging on. Of our 21-25-year-old respondents, 19% have headlines delivered via their mobile phone, almost twice the number of the younger respondents.

Men are more likely to get news via their mobile phone. This is a trend we've seen in past surveys, where women are less likely to download content on their mobiles. The men in our survey were more likely to cite digital sources as their preferred news source, with internet and TV neck and neck. The women were more attracted to traditional media, with more selecting radio and newspapers as their favourite.

These results challenge a widespread assumption that young people have little interest in news. Young men especially are avid consumers and many will pay for instant news on their mobile.

..again, stolen...but unsure where from