Millennials, News, and Social Media ― Is News Engagement a Thing of the Past?

Five years after the first edition of Millennials, News, and Social Media: Is News Engagement a Thing of the Past? was published, a focus on the Millennial generation’s relationship with news is more important than ever. This revised and updated book reports the results of a new survey that reveals changes in news consumption habits and attitudes while painting a detailed portrait of Millennials in a news media landscape now dominated by social media and mobile devices.

Generational, racial, ethnic, and gender differences in news engagement and social media use are examined and so is the historic presidential election that the oldest and youngest Millennials experienced. How Millennials voted, the issues that mattered, and the relationship between their political identity and news is also explored. The spread of fake news, attacks on the press, and the need for news literacy are also discussed.

Since the publication of the book’s first edition, Snapchat and digital subscriptions have emerged and social media sites have become popular platforms for news. How Millennials have responded to these changes in the media landscape is also examined.

Finally, recommendations for further improvement of news coverage of Millennials are proposed. Plus, the book underscores how all segments of society, including news organizations, journalism schools, and tech companies, can work toward a more informed and news literate society, a requirement for viable democracies.

This revised and updated book will appeal to students, scholars, journalists, and everyone who cares about informed and civically engaged citizens and a strong democracy.

Paula M. Poindexter (Ph.D., Syracuse University) is a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of News for a Mobile-First Consumer (Peter Lang, 2016). She is past president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and in that role was responsible for creating "News Engagement Day." Poindexter’s news media experience includes the Los Angeles Times and Houston’s KPRC-TV.