Young people as audiences, consumers and participants in digital news and information environments

: Sormanen, Niina; Reinikainen, Hanna

: Wilska, Terhi-Anna; Nyrhinen, Jussi

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

: 2025

: Young People in Digital Environments: Agency, Opportunities and Risks

: 12

: 27

: 978-1-0353-2924-3

: 978-1-0353-2925-0

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035329250.00011

: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035329250.00011

Young people encounter information daily on various digital and social media platforms and environments and have more power than ever to curate their news and information intake. Current research on youth news consumption indicates similarities, such as a decline in use and social media emphasis, but also differences depending on media systems. Young people still encounter more information on social media from sources other than journalistic media. Social media influencers have quickly become an influential group of actors with the power to affect the knowledge, opinions, and behaviours of young people. This chapter provides an overview of youth news and media trends, a look at how information flows from varied social media sources affect youth information consumption processes, and a deeper reflection on how the affordances of digital and social media have influenced the news and information needs and gratifications of young people in today's complex media landscape.