A new report released by ThinkNewsBrands, The Youth Chapter, examines the myth that young Australians don’t engage with news.
The report draws on Roy Morgan data and provides a detailed analysis of Total News* consumption for the under 40 demographic.
The key finding is that Australians under the age of 40 are embracing news with nine in 10 reading news every month, a figure far greater than any other media channel.
The Youth Chapter highlights
• Ninety-four per cent of under 40s in Australia read the news each month. Of that, 96 per cent of 25-to-39-year-olds are reading news and 91 per cent of 14-to-24-year-olds engage with news monthly.
• Of the 20.4 million Australians that read news every month, 42 per cent of that audience is under 40 and each week news engages more Australians under 40 than any other channel, including Facebook.
• While digital news consumption is high, almost three in every five under 40s get their news from a newspaper.
• News consumption is on the rise for this demographic with dwell time increasing from 63 minutes in 2019 to 86 minutes in 2021.
ThinkNewsBrands notes news readers under 40 are an influential audience with research showing they are early adopters across categories from tech to real estate, lifestyle and food with 87 per cent of young news consumers regarded as “trusted advisors” in their sphere of influence.
ThinkNewsBrands general manager Vanessa Lyons said: “One of the greatest myths is that young people don’t engage with news, a misconception often tied to the thinking that news only means printed newspapers. But these findings show that people under 40 are regularly turning to Australia’s major news publishers for trusted information.
“News brands continue to evolve their offerings to reach and engage younger readers by innovating the way news is delivered both on and off-platform and clearly this is working to build the habit of regular news consumption among younger generations.”
Download the full report here.
*Total News refers to all professional journalist-written news consumed within Australia, spanning both print and digital news mastheads and websites, including Australia’s leading publishers.