Irish adults continue to engage strongly with news media, research shows

Irish adults continue to engage strongly with the news, new research has found, with 70 per cent consuming it at least once a day.

That consumption can, however, impact mental health, particularly among women, the study said, with more than half of respondents to the survey saying the news made them feel downbeat.

The Permanent TSB Reflecting Ireland research also found that people were increasingly upbeat about the economy, although recovery is slow and measured as concerns ease, and more people believe the country is on the right track.

The research is part of a series that examines attitudes to various issues and views on the economy.

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The percentage of people who felt the economy would improve in the next year almost doubled from 11 per cent last year to 20 per cent. Meanwhile, negativity subsided from winter, with 32 feeling the country was on track compared to 24 per cent a year ago.

Consumer sentiment also seemed to be improving, with 51 per cent of adults feeling worse off in May than they did a year earlier, compared to last November when 63 per cent of adults felt worse off. Only a third said they expected to feel worse off in future, compared to 47 per cent in November.

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Looking at the media, seven in 10 adults consume news at least once a day, with TV the most popular medium at 67 per cent and radio at 53 per cent, as consumers rating them as trusted, fair and balanced sources of news.

Almost 70 per cent said they trust national print media and trust in social media sources was low with only one in five adults trusting Facebook and Twitter as news sources and only one in seven trusting TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit. Online news websites also accounted for 53 per cent of news consumption.

Among the 18-24 age group, almost seven in 10 said keeping up with the news was not important and only 16 per cent consider themselves very interested in news. They were more likely to turn to social news sources, with TikTok the most popular, despite a lack of trust.

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More than half of respondents felt news media took a very negative view and 61 per cent said they feel overwhelmed by bad news. More than a third of women said they are consuming less news than before, with only 27 per cent of men reporting the same.

“There are a lot of positive findings in this research for traditional news platforms including TV, radio and print. As a nation, we generally value news and want to keep up to date on current affairs,” said Leontia Fannin, head of corporate affairs with Permanent TSB.

“However, the battle for the next generation of news consumers is ferocious. And even though there is healthy scepticism about the reliability of news delivered via social media channels, it is still the dominant source for news among younger people.”

Although social media use remains high, with more than a fifth looking at social media apps first thing in the morning and 44 per cent saying they spend too much time on social media. A third said social media has a negative effect on their wellbeing.