News Platform Fact Sheet

In a fragmented media environment with seemingly endless sources of information to choose from, Americans’ news habits have changed dramatically in the 21st century. Today, an overwhelming majority of Americans get news at least sometimes from digital devices. This fact sheet looks at the platforms Americans turn to for news, including patterns and trends.

News consumption across platforms

A large majority of U.S. adults (86%) say they at least sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet, including 57% who say they do so often. These figures are almost identical to the share who got news from digital devices in 2023.

Digital devices are by far the most common way Americans get news, although a majority (63%) get news from television at least sometimes. The portion of Americans who often get news from TV has stayed fairly steady over the last few years, now standing at 33%.

Americans turn to radio and print publications for news far less frequently. In 2024, just 26% of U.S. adults say they often or sometimes get news in print, the lowest number our surveys have recorded.

Bar charts showing news consumption across platforms

When asked which of these platforms they prefer to get news on, 58% of Americans say they prefer a digital device, far higher than the share who prefer TV (32%). Relatively few Americans prefer radio (6%) or print (4%).


News platform preferences

% of U.S. adults who prefer ____ for getting news

Year Digital devices Television Radio Print publications
2024 58% 32% 6% 4%
2023 58 27 6 5
2022 53 33 7 5
2021 50 36 7 5
2020 52 35 7 5

Note: “Digital devices” include smartphones, computers and tablets.

Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 15-Aug. 4, 2024.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER




News across digital platforms

There are several different pathways Americans use to get news on their digital devices. News websites or apps and search engines are the most common: About two-thirds of U.S. adults at least sometimes get news in each of these ways. A little more than half (54%) at least sometimes get news from social media, and 27% say the same about podcasts.

Bar charts showing news consumption across digital platforms

News websites or apps are also the most preferred source for news. About a quarter of U.S. adults (23%) say they prefer to get their news this way, compared with 18% who prefer social media, 12% who prefer search and 5% who prefer podcasts. The share of Americans who prefer social media has increased by 6 percentage points since 2023.

Read more about how Americans get news on social media.


Digital news platform preferences

% of U.S. adults who prefer ___ for getting news

Year Search News websites Social media Podcasts
2024 12% 23% 18% 5%
2023 15 25 12 6
2022 12 23 13 4
2021 11 24 10 4
2020 12 26 11 3

Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 15-Aug. 4, 2024.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER




Who uses each news platform?

News consumption across platforms varies by age, gender, race, ethnicity, educational attainment and political leaning. For example, Americans ages 50 and older are more likely than younger adults to turn to television and print publications for news – and less likely to use digital sources like social media or podcasts.

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who get news at least sometimes from …

Television Radio Print
publications
Digital devices
Total 63% 42% 26% 86%
Men 61 42 25 86
Women 66 42 27 85
Ages 18-29 46 27 18 91
30-49 51 43 19 91
50-64 72 51 26 87
65+ 86 43 43 70
White 65 44 28 86
Black 75 43 26 83
Hispanic 60 38 21 85
Asian* 47 25 18 91
High school or less 69 42 26 77
Some college 63 42 24 89
College+ 57 42 28 92
Rep/Lean Rep 65 46 24 86
Dem/Lean Dem 63 39 29 87
* Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic; Hispanic adults are of any race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 15-Aug. 4, 2024.

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who get news at least sometimes from …

News websites
or apps
Social media Search Podcasts
Total 66% 54% 66% 27%
Men 68 49 65 30
Women 64 59 66 24
Ages 18-29 62 78 74 34
30-49 70 64 70 34
50-64 71 45 65 23
65+ 56 28 53 14
White 66 49 64 25
Black 64 58 70 29
Hispanic 64 67 65 31
Asian* 69 65 73 30
High school or less 55 54 60 22
Some college 66 57 68 27
College+ 76 52 69 32
Rep/Lean Rep 64 55 65 28
Dem/Lean Dem 70 55 68 27
* Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic; Hispanic adults are of any race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 15-Aug. 4, 2024.

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who prefer ___ for getting news

Television Radio Print
publications
Digital devices
Total 32% 6% 4% 58%
Men 29 6 4 60
Women 34 5 4 56
Ages 18-29 8 2 3 86
30-49 18 6 3 72
50-64 42 8 3 46
65+ 60 5 8 27
White 33 7 5 55
Black 43 3 3 50
Hispanic 27 3 3 66
Asian* 14 3 2 79
High school or less 41 5 4 49
Some college 32 5 3 59
College+ 21 6 5 67
Rep/Lean Rep 32 7 3 57
Dem/Lean Dem 30 5 5 59
* Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic; Hispanic adults are of any race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 15-Aug. 4, 2024.

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who prefer ___ for getting news

News websites
or apps
Social media Search Podcasts
Total 23% 18% 12% 5%
Men 25 17 12 6
Women 20 19 13 3
Ages 18-29 19 43 17 6
30-49 27 22 16 7
50-64 26 7 10 3
65+ 17 3 6 1
White 25 14 11 5
Black 15 20 12 3
Hispanic 18 31 13 4
Asian* 30 27 16 6
High school or less 13 19 12 4
Some college 21 19 14 5
College + 34 16 11 6
Rep/Lean Rep 21 18 13 6
Dem/Lean Dem 26 18 11 4
* Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic; Hispanic adults are of any race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted July 15-Aug. 4, 2024.

Find out more

This fact sheet was compiled by Research Assistant Christopher St. Aubin and Research Analyst Jacob Liedke.

Read the methodology and the topline.

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This is the latest analysis in Pew Research Center’s ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Follow these links for more in-depth analysis of news consumption:

Read all our reports and blog posts related to news platforms and sources.

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