Strong generational differences emerge in our news consumption

The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.

Why we asked about media habits: It was an interesting week in U.S. newsrooms. So we wondered not just how people get their news, but how many view both liberal and conservative sources, as well as more neutral outlets.

What we found: Nearly half of Americans still tune into one of the three legacy networks (ABC/NBC/CBS) regularly. Networks just edge social media as a regular news source. The generational story is important. And since there’s no real reason to believe that our news consumption is related to our life stage, it’s fair to think of this as a legit generational shift. Which has big implications for our news media, our social platforms and frankly our democracy and understanding of the world around us.

• 61% of Americans aged 55 or older watch the networks vs 32% of the 18-34- year-olds. Those splits reverse for social media.
• Friends and family ranked a strong third, especially among younger newsies.
• Older Americans are twice as likely to read a local newspaper than younger Americans.
• When it comes to watching opposing viewpoints, few really cross over. Only 9% look at both conservative and liberal from traditional sources – although note we didn’t dig into political leaning of social media sources.
• In a separate question 62% say they at least regularly have conversations with people with opposing political views. So there’s that.
• Democrats were twice as likely to watch conservative Fox News (13%) as republicans were to watch the liberal MSNBC (7%).
• Public television and radio edged out Fox News.
• One in ten younger Americans say they don’t use any of these as news sources compared to just 2% of older Americans. So those are the people who don’t know some of the things in the Care-o-Meter!

More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:

Why Americans think streaming TV is only getting better

Men are more confident in their ability to spot fake news or AI content

The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?