Poll: Young Americans’ Media Consumption

This Navigator Research report is the third release of data from a survey conducted among 4,000 Americans under the age of 35 across five different modes to understand where they stand on issues facing the nation today. Today’s release focuses on younger Americans’ media consumption habits, including which social media platforms they are most likely to get news and information about the world from and how frequently they use these different platforms.

Most younger Americans report getting their news and information from social media and websites.

A majority of younger Americans report getting their news and information about the world from scrolling social media and websites when news is shared, while significantly fewer visit news websites or apps or watch TV news channels. 55 percent of younger Americans say that “scrolling social media and websites when news is shared, like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube” best describes how they get news and information about the world, significantly higher than the one in four share who say they are “visiting news websites or apps, not counting social media” (23 percent) or “watching TV news channels” (14 percent). Majorities across partisanship, generation, gender, and race all report getting their news and information most from social media and websites when news is shared, with even higher rates among younger Black Americans (62 percent) and younger women (59 percent).

Younger Americans most report using Facebook and Instagram.

Three in four younger Americans report having both a Facebook account and an Instagram account, with majorities who report using these platforms daily; nearly three in five have a TikTok account and about two in five report using it daily. 73 percent of younger Americans report having both a Facebook account and an Instagram account. While younger Americans across subgroups generally report  having Facebook and Instagram accounts at consistent levels, those under the age of 25 are least likely to have a Facebook account (though two in three — 64 percent — report having one). Nearly three in five younger Americans report having a TikTok account (57 percent); some subgroups of younger Americans where there are notably higher shares with accounts include women (63 percent), those under the age of 25 (63 percent), Black Americans (63 percent), Hispanic Americans (62 percent), and Democrats (60 percent). 

• Majorities of younger Americans report using both Instagram (54 percent) and Facebook (53 percent), while two in five say the same about TikTok (42 percent). Our first report on this survey found that among all younger Americans, they identify more as Democrats by 11 points (46 percent Democrats – 35 percent Republicans). Daily Facebook consumers tend to be slightly more conservative than younger Americans overall, identifying more as Democrats by 5 points (44 percent Democrats – 39 percent Republicans). However, daily Instagram consumers identify significantly more as Democrats by 18 points (50 percent Democrats – 32 percent Republicans), as do daily TikTok consumers by 16 points (50 percent Democrats – 34 percent Republicans).

Only one in three say they watch live TV with commercials at least once a day.

Only about one in three younger Americans report watching live TV with commercials at least once a day. 36 percent of younger Americans report watching live TV with commercials at least once a day, with just 21 percent reporting they watch several times a day. Younger Black Americans are the only subgroup where half report watching live TV with commercials at least once a day (49 percent). Conversely, younger independents are the only subgroup where fewer than three in ten watch at least once a day (28 percent) and nearly two in five say they either never watch live TV with commercials or do so less than once or twice a month (37 percent). 

• When watching TV, most younger Americans are “streaming TV through your internet connection with a service like YouTube TV, Fubo, Sling, Hulu Live, or DirecTV Stream” (55 percent), while only 15 percent report watching TV via cable or satellite TV. Younger Black Americans are also the most likely subgroup to use streaming services when they are watching TV (64 percent).