Decoding youth DNA: The relationship between social engagement and news interest, news media use and news preferences of Dutch millennials

Abstract

There is a growing concern in Western democracies about the decline in young people’s use of news media. Some scholars see it as a result of a diminishing interest in social issues and even of a more general deterioration in civic culture. Others claim that young people still feel socially engaged but that they turn their back to mainstream news media because they are increasingly irrelevant to them. This study focuses on the question how Dutch millennials’ social engagement relates to their news interest, their news media use and their news preferences. It concludes that the relation between young people’s social engagement and their news interest is still strong. Furthermore, it shows that social engagement is clearly related to the use of most national news media, including the use of Facebook. However, social engagement is not so much related to the use of most local/regional news media. Finally, findings show that social engagement is positively related to a citizen-oriented approach of news but not to a consumer-oriented approach. Overall, the study provides insights that can broaden our understanding of the complex relationship between news interest, news media use and news preferences of young people and their engagement with society. Next to that, it can help professional journalism to get (re)connected with the up-growing generation.