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How youth define, consume, and evaluate news: Reviewing two decades of research

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Abstract

This article offers an overview of 94 scientific studies (published between 2006 and 2022) to examine how young people (ages 10–36) define, consume, and evaluate news. Research on news and youth has exploded over the past decades, but what can we conclude from it, and how should journalism scholars move forward? The systematic literature review reveals that while young people remain interested in news, how they consume it has changed drastically. Social media platforms and algorithms now play a pivotal role in young people’s news consumption. Moreover, due to the overwhelming nature of today’s high-choice digital media landscape, youth engage both actively and passively with news, while sometimes exhibiting avoidance tendencies. The review also demonstrates how the impact of digitalization has reshaped young people’s ability to critically evaluate the credibility of news, often relying on social networks and technology platforms. The review concludes with a research agenda.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1851-1869
Number of pages19
JournalNew Media & Society
Volume28
Issue number4
Early online date26 Jul 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2026

Bibliographical note

This article belongs to the Special Issue Contextual Complexities of Violence on Digital Platforms

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the #UseTheNews foundation (no grant number available). The funding body had no role in the design of the study or in the analysis and interpretation of data.

Funders
#UseTheNews foundation

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