Have you also been affected by the news about the coronavirus, the war in Ukraine, and the economic crisis?
Children are not the only ones turned off by such information.
The proportion of those who deliberately avoid the news increased from 29% to 38% between 2017 and 2022, according to a survey by the Reuters Institute.
During this time, it has doubled in Brazil and the United States, where 54% and 46% of people consciously avoid the news, respectively.
Denmark (20%) and Japan (14%) avoid the news the least.
43% of those who avoid the news say they are turned off by too much news about politics and the pandemic. More than a third of them believe that their mood worsens by watching the news, which is especially true for young people under 35.
More than 93,000 people from 46 countries participated in the online survey. Slovenia was not included in this.
The results represent a real challenge for journalism. Subjects that journalists consider most important, such as political crises, international conflicts and global pandemics, seem to be precisely the ones that are turning some people away.
Nic Newman, author of the survey
In this year’s report, the Reuters Institute detected a further decrease in people trusting the credibility of the news as well as their smaller following of traditional media.
Youth are increasingly moving away from traditional media and spending more and more time on social networks such as TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube.
All age groups see the news as equally important for learning new things. However, we see that younger people are more motivated by how fun and ‘shareable’ the news is.
Dr. Kirsten Eddy, co-author of the study
Browsing TikTok for news among 18- to 24-year-olds across all markets has increased fivefold in just three years, from 3% in 2020 to 15% this year.

Points to Consider
- What kind of news bothers you?
- Why is negative news usually more read than positive?
- Do you ever find out any news on TikTok?
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The original version of this article was published on 6th July.
