Keeping on top of the world: Online news usage in China, the United States and five European countries

Abstract

In recent years, the use of the Internet and social media as sources of news has risen all over the world. Using data from “The Peoples’ Internet” project, this article provides insights into the ways in which people use the Internet to access news in seven countries with very different media systems, digital economies and cultures. We found that news consumption patterns differ at the country level between China, the United States and five European countries – Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom – especially when it comes to online news. However, the relationships between news usage and sociodemographic variables at the individual level are strikingly similar across these countries. Our results indicate that cultural influences as well as media systems play a decisive role in people’s news use.