Australians are going to fewer sources to access news, new ACMA research has found.
Data from the ‘How we access news’ report, published today, showed in 2023 Australians used on average 3.1 different sources of news (e.g., Free-to-air TV, podcasts, news websites), down from 3.5 in 2022.
It also found more Australians are choosing social media as their primary source of news content.
20 per cent of Australians nominated social media as their main source of news in 2023, up from 17 percent in 2022.
This was a trend driven by younger Australians, who are shifting away from online news websites and towards social media platforms and apps.
In 2023, 46 per cent of 18-24-year-olds nominated social media as their main source of news, up from 28 per cent in 2022. 31 per cent of this cohort cited celebrities and social media influencers as sources of their news content.
Free-to-air television remained the most common main source of news, reported by 26 per cent of respondents, the same figure as in 2022. This was followed by 23 per cent who used online news websites or apps as their primary source in 2023.
Social media was the only news source to see an increase in people choosing it as their main way of accessing news.
For older Australians, more than half aged 75 and over (52 per cent) reported reading a print newspaper in the previous week, compared to 7 per cent of 18-24-year-olds.
The reports have been published as part of the ACMA’s Communications and media in Australia series which features a range of data snapshots looking at topics such as internet usage, broadcast and streaming consumption, mobile phone use and digital platforms.
