Millennials as Digital Natives

This chapter examines Millennial and non-Millennial preferences for news consumption. It first shows that Millennials are far more likely than non-Millennials to get their news from “new media” sources such as the internet and social media. Although these news sources are rife with misinformation, there is scant evidence that Millennials have a harder time than older generations in separating fact from fiction. This leads to the conclusion that individuals who lack confidence in their ability to spot misinformation avoid online news. Additionally, the chapter explores how varying news diets influence attitudes about trust in government and various public policies. Importantly, across a host of policy attitudes and engagement measures, Millennials show greater opinion homogeneity in the eight countries surveyed than non-Millennials, leading to the conclusion that Millennials’ core persona and reliance on new media sources lead to more consistent views across the globe.