What teens are saying about the content they trust — and how local news can engage them

Where teens get their news

It’s no surprise that today’s fractured media landscape dictates who gets what types of information. But it also affects what they do with that information once they get it — and that may be especially true for teenagers.

In new research about the differences in news consumption between teens and adults by the Media Insight Project, 37% of respondents across all age groups said they got news from social media daily, with that number jumping to 57% with teens ages 13-17.

Craig Santoro, director of educational programs at WHYY in Philadelphia, says that reality — that most people get news via social media — has led to news consumers in these digital spaces playing a game of telephone. This is especially true when people get news from creators or other trusted messengers and not the news outlets that did the original reporting.

“I think there’s very few people, grownups or kids, who are doing the work to follow the breadcrumbs back to see where it came from and read the original piece,” Santoro said.

With that distance, context can be lost. Teens who get most, if not all, of their news through social media are left with fragmented information, frustration and a growing lack of trust. The Media Insights Project report noted that 81% of teens 13-17 get news from influencers at least sometimes; across all age groups, it’s 57%.

“I feel like it gets to the point where a lot of us are distancing ourselves from [the news] just because it’s overwhelming and we don’t know what we can do about it,” said Jayna Dieringer, a junior at Johnson Senior High School in St. Paul, Minn.

“It’s really hard for people to stay plugged in very deeply, because it can often feel like you’re just in an ocean of constantly crashing waves of knowledge,” said Ankita Jaikhatri, a senior at Lambert High School in Forsyth County, Ga.  “And that’s the issue with our 24-hour news cycle, because we can’t find time to process — like there are so many things that have happened.”

Teens also said that follower count is the least important among reasons they personally get news from creators, according to the report.

Isabella Ying, a freshman at The Lovett School in Atlanta, talked about how a creator’s on-camera demeanor and connections can affect their trustworthiness.

“You can always verify if that person is getting their information from reliable sources by seeing what sort of connections they have with reliable outlets,” Ying said.

For survey respondents ages 13-17, transparency around advertising and sponsored content, the tone of the content and being able to easily find information about the account’s mission or who runs it were the most important reasons they turn to a particular creator for news, according to the report.

What news teens seek out

Teens are most likely to follow lifestyle news — such as celebrity and entertainment news, sports, gaming, and health, wellness or self-care — more than hard news, the study found.

That tracks with what teen journalists say, too: Food and culture stories are a means of escape for people.

“Students are more likely to click on, you know, Met Gala stuff. Because the war in Gaza is horrific…So they’re more likely to be like, ‘Oh, who had the best outfit at the Met Gala?'” said Kaitlyn Ho, a senior at Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, Pa.

For those young people new to journalism, food and culture can be a good starting point. Santoro of WHYY, who has worked with teens for more than two decades, explained how those stories are comfortable entry points for young journalists.

“The reason why our kids do produce a fair amount of food stories is because it’s just real easy to go to a restaurant and share a story,” Santoro said.

Lifestyle stories also have that ability to center human experiences. 

“I used to think that the news was all like politics or war and really just like kind of hard to watch. Like it kind of brings you down. And now that I do participate in journalism, I found that the most impactful stories are just people-first journalism…the ones that stick with you,” said Daphne Kleinschmit, a senior at Columbia Heights High School in Minnesota.

While lifestyle stories are appealing, these young people say the news industry shouldn’t sleep on Gen Z. They do care about what’s happening in the news — especially if it’s local.

“Don’t count Gen Z out. There are a lot of smart people in this generation, and they are interested in the news,” said Amanda Reed, a senior at the University of Minnesota.

High school senior Ho said local news “is the antidote to news fatigue.” Stories about their communities, written about people they can relate to, matter. It doesn’t have to be happy; it just needs to be real. Students talked about how the feelings of helplessness and confusion can be quelled by being provided actionable steps — solutions journalism — or hearing from young adults who are tackling societal issues.

Leah Clapman, founder and executive director of PBS News Student Reporting Labs, pointed to a PBS NewsHour piece produced by Santiago Campos, a senior at the District of Columbia International School, about his grandfather who was deported in the 1950s as a U.S. citizen. Clapman said that because Santiago framed the story around his family, it made a harder story more relatable.

“[Carlos’ story] is very newsworthy. So I think that there are ways to bridge that sort of featurey, compelling story with what’s going on right now,” Clapman said.

When news organizations write stories about teens, it’s tempting to rely heavily on experts — usually adult voices — to explain policies like cellphone use in schools. But not including teens’ lived experiences erodes trust at an early age.

“You want experts, and youth are generally not experts in anything,” said Dieringer, the St. Paul teen. What they do have, though, is firsthand experience of how these issues play out in their communities. 

When teens are featured in news stories, the depictions can feel two-dimensional. School policies, social media addiction or crime (especially youth of color) often dominate youth coverage. Their lives are more complex than that, and they want to see themselves more fully reflected.

“I like seeing people who are my age in the paper. And I’m not saying…every high schooler is like someone you should interview. But I feel many of them, people who are going out and helping their community, are worth hearing out,” said Ho, the Pennsylvania teen.

“Through my time at my journalism program, I met so many students who are doing so much more than I would have known. They just sit next to me in the classroom, but they are winning, like, incredible awards for community service. They are helping out their grandparents,” she said. “They’re all affected by what happens in the news.” 

Media literacy matters

Like most people, young people don’t understand what journalists do and the rigor that goes into a well-reported story — only about a quarter of Americans have spoken with a journalist. Our industry has done a terrible job of being transparent about our process, which contributes to the erosion of trust in the media. Those who get to participate in the work of journalism tend to come away with a deeper understanding of their community.

“Before I did journalism freshman year, I had basically no understanding or knowledge of journalism or how it worked,” Dieringer said. “I knew that it would get me my news, but I didn’t really look into news.” 

The practice of journalism allows teens like Fernando Levia, a senior at Ulysses Grant High School in Los Angeles, to have a deeper practical understanding of what it takes to get the information right. 

“I would say I’m more attentive and appreciative of news content, both as a consumer and ‘producer’ of news,” Levia said in an email interview. “Understanding how rigorous and time-intensive reporting is, I’m appreciative of the work of journalists who tell interesting and relevant stories, especially in such a media-saturated environment. 

“I’m also more vigilant about the information I consume, often asking myself if the speaker is trustworthy or verifying information through reputable sources,” he added.

Involvement in journalism can also strengthen civic engagement. Kleinschmit, from Columbia Heights, Minn., said that working on a story about an organization that helped Black mothers through pregnancy helped her see that journalism wasn’t just war, politics and protest.

“It showed me that journalism can create hope and community, and it builds trust within communities that are already harmed,” Kleinschmit said. “I can give them hope.”

Just like people along any division of difference, such as race, gender or religion, Gen Z wants to be heard. They want their stories told in full, and they want those stories to be told or at least informed by them. 

How Gen Z consumes information, connects and communicates with others may be different from adults, but their fundamental wants and desires are the same. In an era when news organizations are doing more with less, enlisting the work of teen journalists may be the answer we’ve been looking for.

Kyndell Harkness is an award-winning newsroom executive and culture strategist with over two decades of experience driving institutional change. Most of her career was spent at the Minnesota Star Tribune before starting her own consulting business, Infinite Voices. Harkness still calls Minneapolis home with her wife and teenage son.