By D.W.G. Kalani Tharanga, JadeTimes News
A global study reveals that more people are deliberately avoiding news, finding it depressing, relentless, and boring. According to Oxford University's Reuters Institute, 39% of people worldwide reported sometimes or often avoiding news in 2023, up from 29% in 2017. The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East may have influenced this trend, contributing to a record high in news avoidance.
The study, conducted by YouGov, surveyed 94,943 adults across 47 countries in January and February for this year’s Digital News Report. Despite the heightened interest in news during elections in certain countries like the United States, the overall global interest has significantly declined. Currently, only 46% of people are very or extremely interested in the news, a drop from 63% in 2017. In the UK, interest in news has almost halved since 2015.
Nic Newman, the lead author of the report, attributes this decline to the challenging news agenda of recent years, including the pandemic and various wars. Many individuals turn away from the news to protect their mental health or simply to focus on other aspects of their lives. People often feel powerless and overwhelmed by the extensive and confusing amount of news, with women and younger people being more likely to feel fatigued by the volume of information.
Trust in News and Changing Consumption Habits
While trust in news remains steady at 40%, it is still 4% lower than during the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic. In the UK, trust in news has slightly increased to 36% this year but remains significantly lower than before the Brexit referendum in 2016.
The consumption habits for news have also shifted dramatically. Audiences for traditional news sources like TV and print have sharply declined over the past decade, with younger people preferring to get their news online or via social media. In the UK, 73% of people now get their news online, compared to 50% from TV and just 14% from print. Facebook remains the most important social media platform for news, though it is in long term decline. YouTube and WhatsApp are also significant sources, while TikTok has risen in popularity, surpassing X (formerly Twitter) for the first time. Globally, 13% of people use TikTok for news, with the figure rising to 23% among 18 24 year olds.
Video content, particularly short news videos, is becoming a more crucial source of online news, especially for younger audiences. Consumers favor video for its ease of use and engaging content, but many traditional newsrooms, still rooted in a text based culture, struggle to adapt their storytelling to this format.
The report highlights that news podcasting is a positive area for publishers, though it remains a niche activity, primarily attracting well educated audiences. Additionally, there is widespread public suspicion about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in reporting, particularly for hard news stories such as politics or war. The public is more comfortable with AI being used in behind the scenes tasks like transcription and translation, supporting rather than replacing journalists.