Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X & Boomers Have Very Different Ideas Of What Counts As Real News
guys_who_shoot / Shutterstock We’ve come a long way from the days when people relied on newspapers and TV broadcasts for the news. Now, various social media platforms are used as a news source just as frequently, if not even more often. But while 59% of American adults get at least some of their news on apps like Facebook YouTube, and Instagram, the answer to the question of which of those sources is actually credible looks a lot different when you start looking at it broken down by age group.
Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers all have their own very different ideas of what counts as real news.
What different generations think is real news is influenced by the news sources they’re most used to trusting. Older people are more likely to think real news has to come from established organizations because that’s who they consider trustworthy. Meanwhile, younger generations are open to taking news seriously when it comes from newer sources.
Boomers think real news comes from traditional sources and covers serious subjects.
Baby boomers grew up during a time when they didn’t have a lot of options for how they got their news. Most news was shared by established sources like newspapers and TV networks that stuck to world events and political updates.
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Boomers find keeping up with the news more important than any other generation. But while younger people sometimes find a celebrity breakup as important as legislation passed by Congress, boomers think real news is serious, not gossip.
They’re much more likely to get their news from traditional sources than to trust technology they aren’t familiar with. When boomers do turn to social media for news, they tend to fall for misinformation moreso than their kids and grandkids. That probably explains at least in part why they want to hear from professional journalists with legit credentials.
Gen X is more relaxed about their definition of real news as long as they’re learning something.
Gen X exists at an intersection between boomers and millennials. They grew up with traditional news sources, but they were introduced to internet sources later on and got pretty comfortable with them. Now, they use a mix of both.
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Like boomers, Gen X thinks it’s important to stay on top of the news, but they also think it’s an overwhelming task that doesn’t always feel relevant to them. This has left them feeling a bit less strict about their news consumption.
They care about serious issues but don’t mind including some news from the entertainment industry to keep things interesting. They believe real news is information that they can learn from, even if it’s not up to boomers’ journalistic standards.
Millennials think real news can be about a variety of topics as long as it's credible.
As the first generation to have access to social media from a pretty young age, millennials obviously consume news differently than older generations. They still rely on traditional sources, but newer options like podcasts and YouTube videos are also popular.
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Millennials want to know they’re getting legit information that isn’t tainted by bias. That has them turning to independent journalists who aren’t affiliated with a specific organization. They think they have a better chance of getting the truth from someone who doesn’t have to follow a national news source’s guidelines.
This generation has also defined real news more loosely. Cultural news can be just as important to them as political news, especially when it feels like it has a bigger impact on their lives. They’re busy, so they don’t have time for news that feels irrelevant.
Gen Z thinks almost anything informative can count as real news.
When it comes to real news, Gen Z is a bit of an outlier. They think pretty much anything that’s trending on social media counts as news, even if it’s not all that serious. They’re open to news that older generations might find unexpected or even unimportant.
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A lot of them still trust traditional news sources like millennials, but they get their information through those organizations’ online platforms. Gen Z is also interested in what influencers have to say, even if they don’t have strong credentials.
Instead of looking for the kind of conventional report you’d see on a nightly news broadcast, they think videos from eyewitnesses count as news. They take discussions and commentary more seriously as well, even though older people might think that’s too biased.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
