Many Avoid Reading News

More people that in recent years are avoiding the news, according to a study by Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ). That’s true around the world, the study found. News avoidance has risen 54% in Brazil and 46% in the United Kingdom. There was a slight increase in some markets but the increase is smaller, 42% of Americans who responded said that “Sometimes or actively” they avoid the news, up from 38% in 2017.

In the United States, people who identify their politics as on the “right” are more likely to say they avoid news because it is “biased and untrustworthy”, whereas those on the “left” say they feel “overwhelmed and powerless” and worry that the news will cause an argument.

The reasons people avoid news tend to fall into different categories with 43% saying they avoid the news because it is too political and about COVID-19. 36% say it has a negative effect on their mood.

The percentage of people who say they consume no news is largest in the United Sates but is also high in Japan (15%), the United Kingdom (9%), France (8%), and Australia (8%).

The study also found that many younger people are getting their news through social media. 16% of younger respondants say they get news from the social media app “TikTok”. Facebook remains popular for news but is down 12 points for 2016. Many of TikTok’s users are under 25 years of age. Conversely, older adults enjoy getting news via their e-mail in the form of newsletters. The study also found that people tended to stay on news sites that aligned with their political views, for instance in the United States, those who identify as Conservative are more likely to watch Fox News, while their Liberal counterparts are more likely to watch CNN.

SOURCE: NeimanLab

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