Factors influencing young people’s news consumption in Switzerland during normative transitions: A mixed methods study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Several media studies have investigated the news consumption of young people and discussed where they get information and what motivates them to consume news. Little is known about the structural factors that influence young people’s news consumption behavior. The aim of this paper is to fill this research gap by focusing on structural factors that play a major role in young people’s news consumption. In a mixed-methods study, we investigated Swiss youth media behavior in news consumption from 2019 to 2020 in Switzerland. The results show that news consumption of people aged 12–20 is determined by three structural factors at home and outside: 1. access to media and internet; 2. regulation by parents and teachers, and 3. routines at home or school. These three factors shape the individual media environment and are related to young people’s news consumption behavior. Changes in news consumption behavior were evident in school transitions where young people not only change teachers and get a new peer group but are often involved in a change of location. These changes can be normative transitions which have an influence on the structural factors of the individual media environment and thus influence the news consumption behavior of young people.