Over the past eight months, FT Strategies and Northwestern University have travelled across three continents to research what 18 to 25-year-olds think about today's news and the extent to which it meets their expectations and needs. The Next Gen News report brings to life the thinking of this hard-to-reach group with nuanced anecdotes, quotes, and observations, and is complemented by insightful commentary from industry leaders. You can access the report and explore our findings here: www.next-gen-news.com
We found that the next generation exhibits emerging behaviours that are distinct in four ways:
- Digital simul-tasking: They fluidly transition between dissimilar tasks (e.g. messaging friends, buying things, watching videos, playing games, catching up on socials, listening to a podcast) while they’re on their phones
- Filtering through trusted networks: They seek out sources of information from people that they know, or feel like they know in real life
- Sensemaking through digital discourse: They rely on the personal opinions of others in digital contexts to frame and understand the news
- Sophisticated searching: They have honed their own sophisticated search skills on social media platforms and online communities to help them manage information overload
Download this report for a deep exploration into the next generation's ideal news experience and the changes that news and media organisations need to make now to connect with the audiences of the future.