Young media consumers ages 18 to 29 are
much more interested in the news around the death of George Floyd than following the 2020 presidential candidates, according to a Pew Research Center study.
Pew Research says
just 35% of those ages 18-29 are following the 2020 Presidential election “very or fairly closely” -- versus 83% who are following demonstrations connected to the death of George
Floyd.
But young viewers are keenly interested in the COVID-19 pandemic, with 75% “very or fairly closely” following that news.
There is a
divide among younger adults in terms of the importance of COVID-19 news. About a third of 18- to 29-year-olds (35%) say the COVID-19 pandemic has
been made into a "bigger" deal than it really is (close to the overall average for all age groups) But at the same time, younger
adults are more likely to say it has been made into a "smaller" deal (32%) than it should have been. This result is higher than any other age
group.
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Older U.S. citizens remain the main consumers of news content -- among 50- to-64-year-olds, the number is 60% when it comes to the presidential election, 91% in
terms of COVID-19 issues, and 84% following demonstrations and news related to the death of George Floyd.
All adults -- from the age of 18 to those 65 and older -- have
a similarly strong interest in following demonstrations and news related to the death of George Floyd -- ranging anywhere from 83% to 90%.
The research comes from a Pew
Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted from June 4-10 as part of its American News Pathways project.