A healthy democracy requires well-informed citizens. Although young people have traditionally shown less interest in consuming news than the rest of the Spanish population, some recent research reveals a worrying increase in the intergenerational information gap.
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In general, and according to data from the Digital News Report Spain 2026 prepared by researchers from the University of Navarra, Spaniards consult the news less frequently than seven years ago. If in 2019 nine out of ten Spaniards informed themselves once a day, in 2026 it is eight out of ten.
Only one in four young people regularly trusts the news
Among those under 25, the decline has been much sharper, dropping from 77% in 2019 to 54% in 2026. At the other end, 7% of young people say they never inform themselves, approximately double that of the rest of the population.
Reversing this trend seems complicated if we consider two main drivers for staying informed: interest and trust in the news. Regarding the first, 54% of Spaniards are very interested in information compared to 33% of young people aged 18 to 24. The intergenerational gap has increased from 13 points in 2019 to 21 points in 2026.
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The trust data is also not very encouraging: only 25% of young people regularly trust the news, eight points less than the overall Spanish population (33%). The combination of low interest and little trust allows us to identify a particularly significant group, the “informational ninis,” citizens who show neither interest nor trust in information. In Spain, they represent 35% of the population, but among those under 25, it reaches 53%.
The paradox is that this happens at a time when the content offer is practically unlimited and accompanies young people wherever they spend much of their time. Social networks, video platforms, search engines, mobile applications, and more recently, artificial intelligence chatbots coexist today with television, radio, and print and digital media.
Social networks as the only source of information
The explanation for this paradox lies partly in the transformation of the main ways of accessing the news. Social networks are the most obvious example: 59% of those under 25 use them to stay informed (12 points more than the overall population) and 47% consider them their main source of news (23 points more). Television shows practically the inverse relationship: it remains the main source for 41% of Spaniards, but only for 23% of young people.
All this reflects not only the change from one device to another but the generational transformation of the information consumption model. Previously, citizens sought out the news, and now it reaches them while they do other things.
And here appears another of the most interesting contradictions: young people turn to social networks but do not trust them. Only 15% of those under 25 say they trust the news they find on social networks. More than half, 55%, distrust them. This apparent inconsistency helps to understand one of the deepest changes in the current information ecosystem: trust no longer alone determines which source or media is used. The choice also depends on convenience, immediacy, who presents the news, and how they capture our attention.
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‘Influencers’ beat traditional media
There lies one of the great challenges for traditional media. Their main competitor is not a source that young people consider more reliable, but simply someone who appears earlier and fits better with their way of consuming content: content creators or influencers. 36% of young people use them to stay informed compared to 23% of the total population.
What is their main appeal compared to traditional media? Most perceive them as more entertaining (69%), approachable (61%), understandable (54%), and authentic (39%). These are attributes not strictly related to the journalistic quality of the information but to connecting with people.
However, the media still maintain an advantage in strictly informative attributes, such as reliability, knowledge, or impartiality. Therefore, they can still be considered more credible and rigorous and, at the same time, stop occupying the center of the youth information diet. That is probably one of the great challenges for journalism. Credibility remains essential, but it is no longer enough to guarantee relevance or consumption.
Seeking closeness, clarity, and entertainment
Media compete in an ecosystem where people do not choose solely based on who offers the most reliable information. They also compete for attention, closeness, clarity, entertainment, personality, and the ability to integrate naturally into digital routines.
That does not mean journalism should become an entertainment product or imitate influencers. Nor should it sacrifice rigor to get clicks or views. It means it cannot assume that credibility or rigor alone guarantee an audience.
The issue is no longer just about getting young people back to the media. First, it is necessary to understand why they have drifted away, what they expect when seeking information, why certain voices manage to capture their attention, and how journalism can transfer to new environments what continues to be its main advantage: offering reliable, verified, and relevant information to understand the world.
This article was originally published in The Conversation. Roncesvalles Labiano Juangarcía is Associate Professor of the Journalism Department at the University of Navarra; Alfonso Vara-Miguel is Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Navarra.
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