News sources have been around as long as people have, going all the way back to the newsletters of Ancient Rome and even before. With new advances in technology come new ways of getting news. First, it was word of mouth and newsletters, then newspapers, then radio and TV, and then social media came on the scene.
With each type of news comes its own share of problems, however. Distrust in the media has been a hot-button topic lately, and I wanted to see how each generation feels about the media.
I created a survey asking questions about the level of trust in different types of news sources, including newspapers, TV stations, word of mouth, social media, and more. The survey received 99 responses from people born in the Boomer generation (born 1946-1964) to Generation Alpha (born 2010-present), with Millenials (born 1981-1996) making up the largest portion of respondents at 36.4%.
Participants were asked to select which sources they receive news from most, with the options being newspapers, news stations on TV, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, Snapchat, word of mouth (from friends, family, coworkers, etc.), and a space to write in responses. They were also asked to select which of those options they trust the most.
Boomers (born 1946-1964)
News stations on TV and newspapers seem to be the places to go for Boomers, with 73% of respondents from the Boomer generation getting their news from news stations and 53% of them getting news from newspapers. 60% of the respondents in this generation say that newspapers are among the most trustworthy sources. 60% also said that news stations on TV were among the most trustworthy.
When asked if they do their own research, 53% of Boomers said they do and 47% say they sometimes do.
“Even the most trustworthy news source can be wrong and I want to make up my own mind,” said an anonymous respondent. They use this as reasoning for why they do their own research.
Multiple respondents also said that they do not trust the news outright due to the belief that news has an “agenda” that they are pushing.
“News is propaganda,” said Robyn R. “The stations are ‘told’ what to report.”
Generation X (born 1965-1980)
52% of Gen X respondents receive their news from new stations on TV. With this generation, we see the use of social media as a news source start to come into play, with 48% of respondents saying they get news from Facebook. Word of mouth and newspapers were also frequently seen in responses. 52% of Gen X respondents believe that newspapers are among the most trustworthy places to get news, and 45% believe news stations on TV are also trustworthy.
When asked if they do their own research, 45% of Gen X respondents said they do, 52% said they sometimes do, and one respondent said they do not.
This generation agreed with the Boomers that news is biased, but, according to the data, they seemed to show less interest in that idea.
“Everything is skewed no matter where it comes from (even with the best intentions), you always have to draw your own conclusion using your own research,” said Joy G., who sometimes does their own research.
Lisa B., who says they always do their own research, says “All news is biased or tempered according to the cultural climate of the news reporting agency. It’s just how it works because researchers and reporters must choose an angle from which to present the story.”
James M., who also does their own research, says “Things are complicated by everyone being a content creator. You have to really drill down and find the primary sources for information.”
Millennials (born 1981-1996)
With this generation, there seems to be a rise in using social media as a news source, with 61% of respondents citing at least one platform, with Facebook and TikTok being the most popular answers. Millennials also seem to get a lot of news by word of mouth from friends, coworkers, etc., with 44% of respondents citing that as a news source. 67% of Millennial respondents believe that newspapers are the most trustworthy place to get news.
When asked if they do their own research, 36% of respondents said yes, and 64% said they sometimes do.
Millennials agree with previous generations that further research is necessary to weed through potential bias and get to the root of a story.
“Agenda-setting, baby,” says Anastasia M., who says they fact-check everything. “I don’t trust everything that’s said ESPECIALLY with questionable framing and language choices.”
Many respondents of this generation said that they do fact-checking if a story seems unbelievable or sensationalized. They also cite general interest in a story as a reason to research further.
On the topic of social media, Kris S., who sometimes researches news further, says “No media outlet is completely without bias, and that contributes to the fact that people don’t trust news. Yet people trust what they see in social media without questioning. It’s so strange.”
Generation Z (born 1997-2009)
100% of Gen Z respondents cited a social media platform as a source of news, with TikTok and Instagram being the most popular answers. News stations on TV also made a comeback, with 44% of respondents citing that as a news source. 63% of Gen Z respondents believe that newspapers are among the most trustworthy news sources, and 56% trust news stations on TV.
When asked if they do their own research, 63% of respondents say yes and 37% say sometimes.
In their responses, Gen Z also acknowledged that media is often biased.
“Believing misinformation could lead me, and those who I share news with, to have false perceptions about what is happening,” said Simren R., who sometimes does their own research.
Ben S., who says they always do their own research, says “After taking a few journalism courses in college it made it more difficult for me to trust the personalities on TV. Most of them aren’t actually speaking their truth, but rather playing a character made up to boost TV ratings.”
Trevor T., who says they always do their own research, thinks differently, however. “I think that people need to have more faith in media as a whole, but instead of looking for accurate news, people look for news that suit their own opinions and beliefs instead of admitting they might be wrong,” they say.
Generation Alpha (born 2010-present)
100% of Gen A respondents cited word of mouth as one of their most common news sources. New stations on TV was also a common answer, with 67% of respondents citing that as a news source. In regards to what’s most trustworthy, 100% of Gen A respondents responded with news stations on TV.
Isabel B. finds news stations on TV to be the most trustworthy, saying “The news tends to be the most reliable because that’s where the world’s stories are. Thousands of people have been watching the news for years and the news has already provided some great information about what’s going on.”
100% of respondents say that they sometimes do their own research.
Overall, this generation seems to be the most trusting of news stations on TV. Olivia A. says that is because “they research the topic before talking about it.”
Based on the research, it seems that no matter the generation, most people can agree that news stations on TV and newspapers are among the most trusted sources of news. With each new generation also comes more and more trust in social media. Overall, however, each generation has shown a distrust of the media as a whole, whether by acknowledging that some forms are more reliable than others or by outright saying it.
