‘Just the way my generation reads the news’: News consumption habits of youth in Turkey and the UK

Abstract

Audiences’ media use and news consumption behaviour are constantly shifting. Some scholars note that the growing decline in youth’s news consumption raises concerns about the future of democracy in various media systems. This research explores the factors that influence college students’ news consumption behaviour in the United Kingdom and Turkey through an interpretative approach. The data are based on qualitative in-depth interviews with around 50 students studying in major universities in London and Istanbul. The findings show overarching common trends such as increased mobile news access, incidental exposure to news on social media, irregular snacking and verifying of news that drive youth’s news consumption behaviour. Findings also show that traditional media use for news has almost been replaced by online media and the modality of traditional media do not easily fit in with youth’s daily routine of studies, work and commute.