People Below 25 Twice Likely to Find News on Social Networking Sites Than Search Engines: Study

According to a new study, young people below the age of 25 are twice as likely to find news through social networks rather than search engines. According to the Reuters Institute Digital report, almost 43 percent Britons aged between 16 and 24 are much more likely to access news through social networks, such as Facebook, rather than search engines.

The report found that only 11 percent of people above the age of 45 access news through social media, while 33 percent still favour search engines, The Telegraph reports.

Facebook has been deemed the most important social network for news, accounting for over half of all news sharing in the UK with 55 percent), followed by e-mail at 33 percent and Twitter at 23 percent.

Google+ and LinkedIn are not popular sites for sharing news.

Nic Newman, editor of the report, which is supported by the BBC and YouGov, said: "One in five of our UK sample share news stories each week via email or social networks - but in general Europeans are less enthusiastic than Americans about both the sharing of news and other forms of digital participation."

Interestingly, the report also found that 23 percent of Britons are extremely interested in science and technology news, compared to the 19 percent intrigued by business and financial news.

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Germans are the most interested in regional news, while people in the US are far more focused on news from their town or city.

Source-ANI