Understanding Saudi Millennials News Consumption in a Digital World

Abstract

Understanding news consumption among young adults in a digital era that has witnessed drastic changes is imperative. While news consumption behaviors among the younger generations have been well documented in many countries, little or no research has been conducted on this phenomenon among young people in Saudi Arabia. In this context and through the lens of uses and gratifications theory, this study looked at how young Saudis consume news on traditional and social media platforms, which media they trust the most, and if there are any gender differences related to news consumption. The study used an online survey sent to a simple random sampling (N=840) at a large public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Different statistical analyses were conducted, including the nonparametric Kruskal Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test, and Chi-square test of independence. The study’s findings suggest that Saudi millennials heavily rely on social media platforms, such as Twitter and WhatsApp, to obtain news using their smartphones. The study also indicates that young Saudis trust traditional media more than social media, but those who are more engaged in social media perceive the news as trustworthy. Other interesting findings suggest that females use various news platforms when consuming news more than males and are interested in different news topics. The implications of this study could be valuable for researchers and organizations when communicating with young Saudis.

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