Is News Avoidance Surging?

Back in October 2023 the Pew Research Center reported that Americans follow the news less closely than they used to do. Where in 2016-2018 the percentage describing themselves as closely following the news was in the 50 percent range the figure was in the 37-38 percent range in 2021-2022--a dramatic drop-off over those few years that can seem related to what people see objectively getting worse. There is the pandemic, the economic turmoil, the wars escalating and spreading across the face of the Earth, the horrific intrusion of ecosystem collapse into more and more lives, among much, much else--and the way in which the media continue to live down to the lowest expectations every sane and informed person has of them as they propagandize rather than inform, terrify rather than enlighten, break the spirits of those who care rather than perform the democratic mission about which they are so pompous, while disgustingly praising themselves for their "responsibility" and "professionalism" as they set about it.

Still, it can seem that after a low point in 2021 there were hints of a mild rebound in attentiveness to the news--with the rebound not so mild among those in the 18-29 age range. If less inclined to follow the news closely than their elders at all those points in time covered by the survey it seems worth remarking that over the longer term the drop was smallest in their case (8 percent for the 2016-2022 period, as against the 19 percent drop among the age 30-49 group), due to a 5 percent surge in the percentage claiming to follow the news from 2021 to 2022.

Might that be indicative of increasing attentiveness to politics among the young? Perhaps--though one should remember that this is a matter of self-reporting in response to a question of a rather general nature, subjective perceptions of which may have changed over time (these six years rather a long time in the media world). One should also remember that even if entirely accurate it still leaves them a long way from the engagement level of their elders--with of those 65 and up, even at this low point, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) still following the news closely. All the same, it is something for those hopeful that an age cohort many associate with withdrawal from life will become more engaged with the world they live in to watch.