This report from the Reuters Institute is packed with interesting stuff, definitely worth a look. Just wanna point out this one.
News avoidance and low interest in the news
Low trust and low engagement in the news are closely connected with ‘avoidance’, an increasing challenge in a high-choice news environment, where news is often upsetting in different ways. Across markets, four in ten (40%) say they sometimes or often avoid the news, up from 29% in 2017 and the joint highest figure we’ve ever recorded (along with 2024)."There are multiple, enormous and overwhelming horrific situations left, right and centre. It’s too much."Avoidance is highest in Bulgaria (63%), Turkey (61%), Croatia (61%), and Greece (60%). It is lowest in Nordic countries as well as in Taiwan (21%) and Japan (11%).In previous research we have identified two groups: 1) consistent avoiders that typically have low interest in news and low education, and 2) selective avoiders who struggle with news overload and look to protect themselves at certain times or for particular topics. This year we have asked again about the reasons for avoidance. These are many, interlinked, and are mostly consistent across countries.Younger respondents are more likely to say that they feel powerless in the face of existential issues such as economic insecurity and climate change, that the news doesn’t feel relevant to their lives, or that it can lead to toxic arguments."[It’s upsetting to see] inflammatory stories that directly affect my life (e.g. coverage about homophobia and transphobia)"It is also striking that across countries under-35s are much more likely to say the news is too hard to follow or understand, suggesting that more could be done to make the news more accessible to younger and other hard-to-reach groups.