Millennials often get criticized for not being in touch with the world around them when they are always on their devices, scrolling social media, texting, or playing video games. But by looking at studies done in the past few years, it has been found that young adults may be more connected than what is thought by the older generation.
Young adults are still getting the news, it is just coming from a wider array of sources than what previous generations have been exposed to. Traditionally people have mostly received their news from print and television, but now, thanks to
technological innovations, there are countless ways to retrieve the news.
Young people seem to be making the most of technology, getting their news from a diverse number of platforms. Although various polls have found that CNN is the favorite network of millennials, other research has found Facebook to be the favorite source for the generation.
Young adults are using Facebook and other sites like Twitter, Reddit, Youtube, and
Tumblr all provide a feed of instantaneous news from all over the world.
Millennials are using these social media platforms as portals to be used to view stories from a multitude of news organizations.
The older generations used to, and still do, seek out news and consume it in sessions. They may do this by sitting down and reading the newspaper, watching cable news, or listening to the radio.
Millennials are seen getting their news throughout the day. It is interwoven in their online socializing sessions. They are not making distinct times to go to direct sources to watch or read the news.
When young adults go on their social media feeds not only do they see their friends’ statuses, pictures, and videos but also shared news stories and articles. There is also usually a “trending” or “discover” section of the site or app, where the most talked about events around the world are displayed.
Some consider this new wave of journalism a good thing. That this means millennials, and other users of social media, are getting a variety of views, opinions, and sources.
Social media platforms can provide links to credible sources. While many young people may no longer check certain newspapers or news stations, they are redirect from their newsfeeds to news websites.
This new way of consuming current events has drastically changed the way journalism reaches its viewers.