Fewer Americans follow the news closely now than in 2016 – Pew Research Center

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December 3, 2025

Americans are following the news less closely than they used to

By Naomi Forman-Katz

The share of Americans who say they follow the news all or most of the time has decreased since 2016, according to nearly a decade’s worth of Pew Research Center surveys. This shift comes amid changes in the platforms people use for news and declining trust in news organizations. How we did this…

As of August 2025, 36% of U.S. adults say they follow the news all or most of the time. That is down from 51% in 2016, the first time we asked this question.

In turn, growing shares of Americans say they follow the news less closely:

• 38% now say they follow it some of the time, up from 31% in 2016.
• 18% say they follow it only now and then, compared with 12% in 2016.

Meanwhile, the share who say they hardly ever follow the news has been relatively stable (7% in 2025, 5% in 2016).

People in every age group are less likely now than in 2016 to say they follow the news all or most of the time. But older Americans remain more likely than younger adults to do so. 

For example, 62% of adults 65 and older now say they follow the news all or most of the time. That’s down 13 percentage points since 2016.

The decline is similar – 12 points – among adults under 30. However, this age group followed the news much less closely to begin with: 15% now say they follow the news all or most of the time, down from 27% in 2016.

This decline in Americans’ attention to the news over the years has also occurred across other demographic groups, including education, gender, race, ethnicity and political party. But the drop has been steeper for some groups than others.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Fewer Americans follow the news closely now than in 2016 | Pew Research Center