News engagement is high
The myth is that news isn’t a priority for young people. However young people are highly engaged with a wide range of news content.
No doubt about it: nine in 10 young people engage with news online
News is ingrained into everyday life far beyond just checking the headlines. Young people turn to news for information and scandal, reports and opinions, for long-form analysis and amusing headlines. It features in daily routines around the clock: young people reported that they check news first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
However, news engagement is often underreported.
- Only 16% of young people claimed to read news brands online in our survey.
- Yet 72% of young people engaged with news brands online in our passive data.
While 67% say news is important to them personally, the myth is so strong even among young people themselves that only 51% believe news is as important to their peers.
Our mixed methodology has identified that young news readership is far higher than previously thought and that UK news brand publishers, alongside the BBC, play a central role in bringing news in all its glory to young people.
- Nine in 10 engage with news content (this includes the BBC and other global news sources).
- Seven in 10 engage with UK news publications’ content.
- On average readers checked at least six news items a day.
To put these engagement figures in context, if we considered everything that young people do online, ‘news’ content ranks third in terms of reach at 88% —only ‘life admin’ like email and banking (99%) and ‘social media and messaging’ (96%) are more common.
This means news platforms reach more young people than entertainment sites (i.e. YouTube), music (i.e. Spotify), fashion sites or gaming platforms — not to mention the long tail of everything else.
With news content also available across social platforms the figure for news could be even higher than the data captured in news web and app clicks. Nine in 10 young people reported that they see news brand content on their social feeds, suggesting that a proportion of time spent with social media includes time spent with news brand content.
Why is engagement with news so high?
News fills a diverse set of purposes in our lives. It is a source that delivers on different areas in different moments meaning we turn to news again and again throughout the day. It’s what makes it such a fascinating and rich medium. It is entertaining, informative and inspirational. It challenges our thinking. It helps us bond with our friends.
“I think it is my duty to keep up to date with the news that affects me.”
Seb, 22, Glasgow
“It’s pure entertainment value.”
Kadyann, 28, London
“It gives me something to talk to my friends about.”
Arohi, 17, Bournemouth
Engagement increases with age
As young people have new life experiences, their interest in understanding what is happening in the wider world and why increases. Trends have shown consistently over time that news becomes more — not less — important to people as they get older.
Young people notice that as they meet each new life stage marker, they read more news and a wider variety of news. As they progress through school, meet new people at university, take on new challenges at the workplace and have children, news resonates with them more strongly.
For advertisers looking to engage with young people as they hit these crucial and life-defining milestones, they should look no further than news brand environments.
“When we were like 13, we weren’t interested in anything but celebrity news. But now I’m in year 13 and a lot more is relevant to me as it relates to things I’m studying.”
Arohi, 17, Bournemouth
“I have read more news and different sections as I’m looking to work in the commercial world in the city.”
Alfie, 21, London
“Now I’m in university and have a bigger understanding of how things might affect me, so I think it is my duty to understand more current topics so I can make sense of it.“
Seb, 22, Glasgow
“Now I’ve had children it is paramount to me that I understand what is going on in my local area and the wider world.”
Kadyann, 28, London
