US: 1 in 4 young adults reads a daily newspaper

Posted by Liz Webber on June 29, 2009 at 2:21 PM

Who says the younger generation has no interest in traditional media? More than a quarter of Americans aged 18 to 20 reads a daily newspaper, according to the new Nielsen report "How Teens Use Media." In comparison, 45 percent of all adults pick up the paper on a daily basis.

About a third of 18- to 20-year-olds reads the Sunday paper, compared to 50 percent of all adults.

When it comes to which daily publications young adults favor, their preferences tend to match the general population, with 2 percent each reading The New York Times and USA Today. Interest in the Wall Street Journal is slightly less, wherein just 1 percent picks up the business rag, versus 2 percent of all adults.

Teens' use of other media also produced some surprises. Contrary to what one might assume, teens and young adults spend less time on the Internet than those aged 25 and up. This is most likely because those age groups spend much of their time in school, whereas adults are often in front of a computer all day at the office.

The websites teens visit most do not differ greatly from the general population. In the US, Google, Yahoo and YouTube topped the list for those aged 12 to 17.

Source: AdWeek