Millennials have practically grown up with cellphones and Internet access around them, differentiating them from previous generations. It is not difficult to comprehend that millennials get their news differently from previous generations, too. With world news, local news, political news, and pop culture events on television and social media, there are stories everywhere.
According to Pew Research Center, 61% of Millennials get their political news on Facebook. I was surprised that millennials rely on other people posting stories on their feeds or subscribing to organizations in the hopes that they will be online during the time the articles are posted.
Below is a list of organizations Pew cited and I compiled showing where millennials go for their news.
61% Facebook
44% CNN
33% Google News
32% ABC News
23% YouTube
19% CBS
18% NPR
17% New York Times
9% Wall Street Journal
4% The Guardian
3% Politico
2% Linkedin
Clearly, this list does not add up to one hundred percent because some politically-engaged people check multiple sources on a variety of platforms and sources, but it shows that millennials receive their news in a variety of ways.
If millennials want to maintain a healthy level of current event knowledge, I suggest going to more sites than just Facebook. Hopefully, people will watch CNN or read the newspaper on their iPads each morning. If these options aren’t attractive, hopefully, millennials will find what works for them.
(Articles referenced: http://www.journalism.org/interactives/generational-media-habits/, http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/)