Gen Z news consumption U.S. 2022| ��ƽ��

Frequency of using selected news sources among Generation Z in the United States as of August 2022

Characteristic	Daily	A few times per week	Once per week	A few times per month	Once per month	Less than once per month	Never
Social media	50%	20%	6%	6%	2%	4%	11%
Streaming services	23%	19%	8%	11%	5%	7%	28%
Online-only news sites	13%	15%	11%	12%	7%	9%	33%
Radio	6%	15%	9%	10%	6%	13%	41%
Cable news networks	6%	15%	8%	8%	5%	11%	48%
Network news	5%	11%	10%	11%	6%	8%	48%
Local newspapers	5%	6%	6%	7%	5%	11%	59%
Podcasts	5%	12%	9%	14%	4%	11%	46%
National newspapers	4%	5%	6%	8%	5%	11%	61%

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Release date

October 2022

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

August 11 to 17, 2022

Number of respondents

531 respondents

Age group

18 years and older*

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

*Respondents participating in the survey were born between 1997 and 2012.
Question: How often do you turn to the following sources for news?

Citation formats

A survey conducted in August 2022 found that Gen Z news consumers most frequently get their news from social media, with 50 percent of respondents reporting they used social networks as their news source on a daily basis. There was a general preference for online news sources rather than offline outlets among Gen Z, with only five percent saying that they read local newspapers every day.

News consumption: Gen Z vs. millennials

The same 2022 study showed that whilst there were similarities between news consumption among millennials and Gen Z, there were also stark differences between the two groups. Gen Zers were significantly less likely to listen to the radio or watch television for news, and close to 60 percent said that they never read newspapers. Meanwhile, approximately 20 percent of Millennials reported listening to radio news and 15 percent watched cable or network TV on a daily basis.

Despite these differences, both Gen Z and millennial news audiences both demonstrated a clear preference for using social media to get their news. By contrast, Boomers were the least likely group to use social media for news, generally preferring network news for keeping up to date. Indeed, social networks are not without their problems, with consumers growing concerned about the news they find there.

Social media and news

Except for podcasts, social media is the least trusted news source in the United States. Fake news circulates there easily as consumers either unknowingly or deliberately share such content, and younger generations, who are the heaviest social media users, are at the highest risk of encountering biased, inaccurate, and untrue stories.