Young Americans are dramatically changing how they consume news, with teenagers increasingly turning to social media platforms and online content creators instead of traditional journalism outlets, according to new research.
The Media Insight Project’s latest study reveals that 57% of teenagers between ages 13 and 17 check social media for news at least once daily, significantly higher than the 36% of all U.S. adults who do the same.
The research also shows that 57% of teens obtain information about national issues and events from influencers or independent content creators at least occasionally, compared to 43% of adults. The study represents a partnership between The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the American Press Institute and journalism programs at Northwestern University and the University of Maryland.
The findings highlight how deeply social media has become embedded in teenage life and demonstrate that young people are increasingly consuming news through these platforms rather than going directly to established news organizations.
Although Americans haven’t completely turned away from traditional news sources, they are reassessing which outlets they consider trustworthy, according to Robyn Tomlin, executive director of the American Press Institute.
“Traditional national and local outlets continue to stand out as a trusted source, but people, especially younger audiences, are also building relationships with younger creators they believe are transparent and authentic,” Tomlin said. “That reality has enormous implications for the future of news.”
Beyond social media platforms, teenagers also show greater willingness to use search engines and artificial intelligence chatbots when looking for news information.
The research indicates that roughly 40% of teens access news daily through search engines, while approximately 20% report using AI chatbots for the same purpose.
However, age groups show similar patterns when it comes to digital news websites, apps, television and streaming services. About 40% of both U.S. adults and teenagers watch television news at least once daily, with comparable numbers visiting digital news sites.
“The idea that television is going away is a misapprehension,” said Tom Rosenstiel, journalism professor at the University of Maryland who participated in the survey. “Watching news through video is not going away. It’s changing. The way you see it on YouTube is different than on the ‘CBS Evening News.’”
Even though many teenagers receive news from influencers and AI sources, they maintain considerable skepticism about these information sources.
While teens express more confidence than adults in AI chatbot information, relatively few show high trust levels. Only 11% of teenagers demonstrate strong confidence in AI-generated information, compared with just 4% of adults.
Teenagers also believe they’re better equipped to identify whether content comes from humans or artificial intelligence. Approximately one-third of teens feel highly confident in their ability to distinguish between AI-created and human-created content, while only about 20% of adults share that confidence.
Similar doubt exists regarding influencers. Just 12% of teenagers express strong confidence in information from independent creators or influencers across television, social media or other platforms. While this exceeds the 6% of U.S. adults who feel similarly, it remains quite low overall.
As expected, the survey found teenagers show greater interest in celebrity news, music, movies, sports and entertainment content. Adults demonstrate more concern for political developments, business matters and economic issues.
Both teenagers and adults experience significant news fatigue, particularly concerning political coverage, Rosenstiel noted. Most Americans in both age groups report they frequently or occasionally try to avoid stories about national government and politics, with about 60% saying they actively avoid news related to President Donald Trump.
“People are tired of the feeling that things are spinning out of control that they’re very judicious in what they’re spending their time on,” Rosenstiel said.
Rosenstiel explained that many teens approach news gathering differently than older generations. They’re much less inclined than adults to avoid celebrity coverage or news delivered through social media channels. He suggested that the most valuable journalism for some people might be content that helps them navigate daily life, even if it comes from unconventional sources.
“Part of the problem for traditional journalism,” Rosenstiel said, “is the traditional journalism definition of what is real news.”
The Media Insight Project survey represents a collaborative effort between the American Press Institute, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll surveyed 2,101 Americans, including 1,092 adults aged 18 and older and 1,009 teenagers aged 13 to 17. Adult polling occurred February 5-8, while teen polling took place February 2-16 using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points for adults and plus or minus 4.3 percentage points for teenagers.
