What Each Generation Thinks Is ‘Real News’ Reveals A Lot About Them, According To A Psychologist
Does where you get your news matter?
Kh-ali-l i from Pexels | Canva Pro The way we watch and read the news has changed a lot over the years, and it's come to a point where what each generation considers real news is pretty different from one another. Long gone are the days when American families would gather around the radio to hear Edward R. Murrow on CBS. Then came Walter Cronkite, also on CBS, who dominated TV and was once considered the most trusted man in America. And then came the internet.
Now, there are endless ways to get your news: radio, TV, newspapers, social media, email newsletters, and more. One essential factor that can shape your preference for certain media outlets is the generation you belong to. Psychiatrist and bestselling author Dr. Judith Joseph recently shared a video on Instagram breaking down how each generation prefers to get their news. From Gen Z to boomers, she explained the different ways people like to stay informed, what it says about them and their ability to discern "real news" from "fake."
Boomers are a loyal audience
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"Older boomers worked to have the American Dream, and they were not taught to dwell on the present," Dr. Joseph wrote. She explained that because boomers were raised in a post-war era, they learned to be practical and direct, traits that were necessary during economic hardship. Because of this, they tend to stick with familiar sources and often place their trust in just a few media outlets. But who they trust, they seem to trust implicitly because that's the world they grew up in.
As Upworthy noted, it's not so much that boomers are easily misled to blindly trust, they had reason to assume that journalism was reliable and unbiased. That's because in 1949, the FCC enacted The Fairness Doctrine, which "required news outlets, which included radio stations, to provide equal airtime to opposing views. The information needed to be factual in nature without editorializing."
Basically, journalists were required by law to present unbiased news. In 1987, thanks to President Reagan, the Doctrine was unfortunately repealed on the grounds that it violated free speech. Guess when Rush Limbaugh started his show? 1988. Sensationalized "news" has since taken over, but boomers haven't exactly let go of their ingrained beliefs, and it has impacted their belief system in terms of having a more trusting approach to the sharing and consumption of information.
This idea is backed up by a survey from the Pew Research Center. Researchers found that over 60% of boomers rely on local TV for their political news. For many in this generation, turning to the internet for news is still the exception, not the rule, but when they do, they can be easily misinformed.
Gen X is a fact-checking audience
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"Gen X was more into materialistic accumulation, and they channeled frustration into work," Dr. Joseph wrote. She argued that this generation was more focused on working harder, and they came of age during a time when many public figures weren’t telling the truth, if they ever were, on the news. Because of that, she said Gen X tends to question new information.
As the generation that brought about Grunge, it makes sense that Gen X is leery of everything. As marketing research company Berbay noted, "Gen X was the first generation to crossover from the analog to digital age. So, while they pay attention to television news, they are more technologically advanced than boomers and are typically more active on social media."
That doesn't mean that Gen X has given up on the old ways, however. Many of the older members of the cohort were raised on the idea that the news should be trusted, and especially those talking heads delivering the news. According to a survey by SmartNews, 29% of Gen Xers trust TV news anchors to deliver real news.
Millennials don't check the news often
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"Millennials grew up in the age of internet knowledge, so they search for a better life and meaning," Dr. Joseph said. She argued that this generation knows how to process experiences and prioritize their mental health. So when the news becomes too overwhelming, they know when to step away.
This take is understandable, but research shows millennials actually stay connected to the news just not in the traditional sense. They are exploring info on social media. The same Pew Research Center survey mentioned earlier also found that 61% of millennials get their news from Facebook. That’s a high number, and it shows that this generation is, in fact, tuned in.
They are also more likely to be skeptical about their news consumption. The SmartNews survey found that 59% of millennials have a knee-jerk reaction to not believe what they read before verification. That means of verification wasn't explored, but nevertheless, the skepticism is there. Of course it is. These were kids who went from no internet to internet in the blink of an eye. They were raised avoiding email scams promising wealth if they could help some unknown Nigerian Prince secure his fortune.
Gen Z relies on AI
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"Gen Z grew up in the age of social media, where they can't escape bad news and were unprotected from it since childhood," Dr. Joseph said. She argued that this generation turns to modern tech and AI to verify the information they come across online.
This idea is backed up by Gen Z’s strong presence in AI spaces. For example, a study from the research team at Aithor, an AI writing platform, found that nearly 80% of Gen Z professionals use AI tools for more than half of their work tasks. That also opens them up to misinformation, unfortunately.
AI is still very much in its infancy and, as a result, needs verification for most of its sourcing. Gen Z's trust in the digital world means they more readily trust that information just because they were raised online. Peter Adams, the senior vice president of education at The News Literacy Project, explained to NBC News that Gen Z's primary source of news is TikTok, and that can be problematic. He explained, “If your primary way of [consuming news] is input-grazing through TikTok or Snapchat or some other platform, there’s an impulse to just kind of react in passing and not really interrogate the source.” Abbie Richards, an independent researcher who focuses on TikTok, told the outlet of her own Gen Z cohort, “To be frank, we’re susceptible to misinformation about any and all topics, but I don’t think that’s new to younger generations. It’s just on an exacerbated scale because of the internet.”
Gen Z is young and getting bombarded with a lot of information. They are still figuring it all out. Add to that AI, and the challenges are much different from those of the generations before them.
The overall picture is that each generation is unique and prefers to get its news in different ways. It's also obvious that each generation is both a little jaded and a little naive when it comes to information, in general. The takeaway: Regardless of your age or generational cohort, we should be a little less lazy when it comes to the media we consume and a little more skeptical of what's fact.
Matt Machado is a writer studying journalism at the University of Central Florida. He covers relationships, psychology, celebrities, pop culture, and human interest topics.
