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'News Fatigue' Is Symptom of Youth's Shift

Deluge of info has multi-tasking Gen Y less able to go in-depth

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 2, 2008 1:08 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Young adults find themselves so inundated with headlines and so distracted by other media that they have trouble consuming the news, the AP reports of a new study. The project followed 18 ethnically diverse 18-34 year olds, and found that though they wanted in-depth news, they had trouble sorting through a barrage of headlines and updates.

"Our observations and analysis identified that consumers' news diets are out of balance due to the over-consumption of facts and headlines," says the founder of the group that performed the study, which the AP has used to develop new techniques.

Young people get their news mostly from the internet, and are usually doing something else at the time, a stark difference from the leisurely morning paper experience.
Young people get their news mostly from the internet, and are usually doing something else at the time, a stark difference from the leisurely morning paper experience.   (Shutterstock)
Young people have access to too many news sources - and can't pay attention to any of them.
Young people have access to too many news sources - and can't pay attention to any of them.   (Shutterstock)
The study found that, though young people wanted in-depth news, they had trouble digesting it because of data overflow and near-constant multi-tasking.
The study found that, though young people wanted in-depth news, they had trouble digesting it because of data overflow and near-constant multi-tasking.   (Shutterstock)
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