January 31, 2025
Rapid Insights
Survey | A Changing Media Consumption Landscape
Rapid nationwide survey to assess the primary sources of news across various demographics in India
Context
With the rapid shift in media consumption patterns, particularly among younger demographics, understanding the primary sources of news is critical for media companies, advertisers, and policymakers. This survey investigates the changing landscape of media consumption, focusing on the prevalence of digital platforms compared to traditional media outlets such as television and newspapers.
Methodology
We used our rapid survey framework to reach 15,260 respondents in 421 parliamentary constituencies. The National Family and Health Survey (NFHS) was used to adjust the results to make representative claims across age and gender in households that own a mobile phone.
Outcomes
Nearly as many people rely on YouTube for news (33.6%) as those who turn to television and newspapers (34.4%). Meanwhile, social media plays a notable but secondary role— 23.5% of those surveyed get their news from platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Peer-to-peer apps like WhatsApp and Telegram remain on the fringes, with only 8.5% using them as primary news sources. The growing prominence of YouTube as a news source reflects the preference for demand-driven content curation, rather than peer-driven news exchange on WhatsApp or Facebook.
Our findings also reveal striking differences in news consumption patterns across economic and age groups:
- 39% of those from the poorest backgrounds rely on television and newspapers as their primary news source. We found wealthier groups more inclined toward newer sources of news.
- Younger audiences are moving away from traditional media, with those between the ages of 18 and 30 turning to YouTube (35.4%) far more than television and newspapers (21.5%). In stark contrast, those over 60 gravitate towards traditional media with 49.2% relying on television and newspapers—significantly more than the 32.5% who use YouTube for news.
- Facebook and Instagram are also emerging as key news sources for younger audiences, with 34.8% of those between 18 and 30 relying on them. Conversely, 12.1% of those above 60 cite these as their primary sources of news.
